Monsters of Different Lives
by TopSucc2
Summary: This story has gone into rewrite mode. When I am caught up to where I am now with this story in the rewrite, I'll be posting it here and this story will be taken down.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi there. Well this is my first time doing this so here goes, hopefully i don't blow it.**

 **First off this fic is placed 5 years after the events of Black 2 and White 2. It is in a slight AU and it is going to get graphic. I mean, if you have a weak stomach bring a paper bag kind of graphic. I know it's been done before but I'm doing this to show that Pokemon are still monsters. They could kill us and other Pokemon pretty easily. I promise not to be gruesome 24/7. I will only use graphic material when i find it necessary to the plot of the story. But when i get graphic, hold on to a chair and don't puke all over the screen. (Obvious exaggeration is obvious)**

 **And yes, this is a romance between a Gardevoir and my edgy af oc. Deal with it. I also promise not to keep these characters super edgy all the time. Just for a bit in the beginning, bare with me. If you couldn't tell already, I would like to try to throw in a bit of cynical humor here and there but we will see how the story goes and see if it is appropriate for the flow of the plot and tone of the story at the time.**

 **Also don't expect any super cringy weeb shit. I enjoy anime as a source of entertainment but I am not going to be using any Japanese in my fic. I just find that cringy and awkward. Also I'm sure anyone with half a brain can figure out whose Point of View the story is currently in based on context clues and general plot flow. If you can't figure that out... then I am dreadfully sorry.**

 **So with that out of the way, time for the super cringy disclaimer about how I don't own Pokemon!**

 **The following is a non-profit, fan-based story.**

 **Pokemon Red, Green, Blue, Gold, Silver, Crystal, Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, Black &White, Black&White 2, X&Y, and Sun and Moon are all owned by**

 **Shigeru Miyamoto, Satoshi Tajiri, Nintendo, The Pokemon Company and Game Freak**

 **Please support the official release**

 **Sue me TFS**

 **Chapter 1:**

 **December 6th, 9:00 am Age 2207, 9 miles off of Castelia City:**

Salt. That's all Grace could smell from her corner in the pitch black depths of the barge she was on. The overwhelming stench of the sea flooded her nose, leaving a slight burning sensation. The odor made her lightheaded, leaving her even dizzier than before. It didn't help that she had already lost a considerable amount of blood from the numerous gashes on her back. Even less so that she had done a half-assed job at patching herself up. She couldn't help but give a small smirk at the thought.

' _Take that you son of a bitch. I won.'_ Grace snickered, relishing this feeling she had. This sense of joy and pride that she hadn't felt in years. Her long hair brushed her shoulders, shining a deep green in the sunlight peeking in through the porthole. Her dress rode up her slender legs as she sat, parting ever so slightly. She winced as the spike protruding from her back hit the wall behind her. When she was younger, she had been teased about the small size of her chest and back spikes. Though, this size made it more sensitive, allowing her to sense emotions easier than most of her species. She raised her hand and rubbed the scar just above her chest piece, a reminder of the last three years of her life. During those three years, she learned just what humans are. Monsters. She loathed humans. Despised them. Not a single one can be trusted. And for that matter, she was entering a land that she had never been to before. It was on the other side of the world and all she knew about it was that it is called "Unova". She had to fend for herself now, find a place away from the prying eyes of humans. A secluded place that not even most Pokémon would step into.

But for now she needed to rest. The only emotions she could feel right now were those of the humans upstairs. She hadn't eaten in days after the humans had figured out that food was going missing from their storage room. She decided that for now she would sleep, and worry about food when she arrived in the new, alien land.

 **December 6th, 2:43 pm Age 2207, Castelia City port:**

When grace awoke from her slumber, she could immediately tell that they had reached land. Not only by the bustling noise of footsteps above her, but by the hundreds, no, was thousands of emotions she was picking up on. Anger, joy, jealousy, greed, pleasure, annoyance, grief. So many emotions of people and Pokémon, just a short walk away.

 _'Great,'_ she thought, ' _I want to stay away from these fuckers and I choose the one boat that's going to an area with more humans then I can count!'_

She smacked herself over the head, wondering how in the hell she was going to get through this undetected. Then, she got an idea. Grace took a long breath, filling her lungs with the dense air of the city, before exhaling and calming her mind. She began scanning the area around her for the least amount of emotions possible. To the left of the ship? No, there seem to be hundreds spread over the area. In front? There were fewer but still to many. How 'bout the right? Yes, yes there! Grace smirked and slowly stood up. There were barely any there, maybe three or four. And they were spread wide, it would be easy to sneak through there. Grace began to focus on the area, locking on a point with the least possible chance of being spotted. Then, with a flash of light, she closed her eyes and teleported.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself on a small strip of asphalt with a set of stairs leading back up to a larger inlet. Grace turned around and couldn't hold in a gasp at what she saw. Miles upon miles of water, as far as the eye could see. It was peaceful and serene. A sense of calm washed over her… until she heard a high pitched voice shout something.

"Mommy, Mommy! Did you see that light! It was like the sun!"

"No I didn't sweet heart, where was it?"

"Over there Mommy, follow me!"

Grace scowled, knowing that the light from her teleport had been spotted by a human. She sighed and looked for a place to hide. She turned to her left and saw a door with a sign next to it which read, "Castelia City sewers, Stay out during the summer".

Without even thinking, she rushed through the door letting it close behind her. She bolted down the stairs that were right in front of the door and scanned the area for a place to run. A good fifty feet away on the other side of the passage was an opening. She floated across the gap and ran straight for the opening. She looked in and saw the entrance to what looked like a cave with a makeshift sign in front of it. It read, "Relic passage, extremely dark, tread lightly."

While she hated idea of being trapped in a dark cave, she didn't really have much of a choice if she wanted to get away from this city undetected. She sighed, to a breath and walked into the cave.

 **December 7th, 4:30 am Age 2207, Driftveil Pier:**

When Grace exited the cave, she slowly dropped to the ground, totally exhausted. She hadn't eaten or drank anything in days, and she didn't sleep all night. She could barely stand at all. But she had to push forward. At this time of night, no humans would be out of their homes. She climbed back to her feet, holding her gut the whole time. She had to find some food. Grace took in her surroundings. She saw a large building adorned with multi-colored lights and a blue roof. The streets were lined with lights and green tile. To her left was a small tunnel that looked like it led somewhere. She quietly looked inside to see if any humans were there. Normally she would just sense for emotions, but her lack of food and water made her unable to concentrate and kept her from using her psychic powers. The tunnel opened up to a larger, quainter looking part of the town. She saw tall buildings marked with the word "Hotel" lining the streets. She also saw what looked like a market. Upon seeing this, she made a mad dash for it, tripping over her own feet a few times. She scrambled inside, searching desperately for anything that looked edible. Then, it hit her. A scent. Multiple scents. Sour, sweet, spicy all different kinds of smells. She looked for the source and spotted a berry stand. Grace bolted over to the stand, drooling at the thought of finally having some food. She spotted a basket of sitrus berries and began to feast. When she bit down on a berry, an explosion of sour juice that turned sweet, becoming mellow and dry flood her mouth, leaving a slightly bitter after taste. It was heaven on earth. Behind the counter she found a container holding water. It trapped the water inside, holding it in place. She had no idea how to get the water out, so she used her returning psychic power to slice off the top of the bottle, and began to drink. She felt her energy returning and gained a sense of revitalization. However, in her distraction, Grace failed to notice the human male walking up behind her.

 **December 7th, 4:55 am Age 2207, Driftveil City, Nathans' home:**

It was no use, he couldn't sleep. It had been weeks since he had gotten a full good night's sleep. A few weeks prior had been the anniversary of his mothers' passing. He'd have nightmares every night, reliving that day over and over and over again. And it wasn't exactly an easy trek to get to Fennel ever since he left Castelia City. Nathan had come up here to be closer to her so that she could help him whenever he had the nightmares. But now she had returned to Striaton City. She wanted to return to the dreamyard and he didn't have the money to pick up and move again. He was barely getting by working the drawbridge and couldn't afford to move. He vowed to never stay in Castelia again, fearful of running into his father. The man had become a drunk ever since Nathans' mother died, spewing profanities and hate wherever he went. He was just one example of why he despised most human beings. To him they are vile, despicable, selfish creatures whose main priority is themselves. After mulling over his spite for a few minutes, Nathan decided to get up and go for a walk.

Nathan was a nineteen year old boy that lived alone in Driftveil. He pushed himself up out of bed, revealing his tall, slim form. The moonlight shown across his face, causing his eyes to glow a faint purple. He walked over to his dresser, pulling on his grey slacks and purple tee-shirt. The shirt hugged his torso, gripping him tightly. As he walked out the door to his room, Nathan threw on one of his many black hoodies. It was soft and snug, its warmth covering him like a blanket. He walked over to the door leading outside and slid his feet into his purple vans. On the counter was his xtransever. He grabbed it and attached it to his wrist, cursing as he pinched his skin with the clip.

When all was said and done, Nathan turned to the door and opened it, allowing the cool winter air to slide across his face.

 **December 7th, 5:08 am Age 2207, Driftveil Market:**

"Well, look at what we have here. A thief eating berries from my stand. The hell do you think you're doing?"

Grace swallowed and froze. She didn't think any humans would be out this early. And from the sound of his voice, he is pissed. She gulps and slowly turns or head to look at the human, breaking out into a cold sweat when she lays her eyes upon him. He towered over grace and looked like he was strong enough to punch a hole through steel. Her heart started to race, panic beginning to rise and overflow.

 _'Shit shit shit shit shit shit. What the hell am I going to do?! This human looks like he could go toe to toe with a salamence! How am I gonna get out of this.'_

Charles narrowed his eyes and began to raise his voice. "Well little thief, do what I tell you and we won't have any issues. Get the FUCK out of my store right now or I will make you get out."

Grace stayed right where she was, completely frozen by fear.

"What are you deaf? I said get out! I am not about to have some dirty fucking monster eat all of my product!"

Suddenly, all the fear and panic Grace was experiencing changed. Her fear was replaced by a boiling rage, her panic by an unrelenting hatred for all things human. She narrowed her eyes at the human as the leaves on the fruit began to glow with a faint light.

"Do I have to spell it out you dumb bitch?! G-E-T O-U-T-" was all he managed to say before being pelted by razor sharp glowing leaves. Although the leaves cut all over his body, they were very shallow and barely bled. Most of the leaves didn't even make it through his clothes. Grace couldn't must the power needed to do any serious damage. She raised her gaze to meet his. And realized how little her attack actually did.

Charles, looking much more pissed off than hurt, glared at her, wiping the blood off his face with his shirt. "You just sealed your fate girly." Charles swung his fist and slammed it into her gut, sending Grace flying through the air. She landed with and hard, the wind vacating her lungs. As she gagged and coughed trying to get to her feet, she noticed Charles approach her slowly, a malicious grin plastered on his face. She slowly got to her feet, only to receive a hard slap to her back. She landed on the ground hard and when she reached around and felt where she had been hit, she was greeted with something wet and warm. She brought her hand around and looked at it in horror; her hand was soaked in blood. The gashes on her back had opened up and were bleeding once again. She had to get out of there, and she had to do it now. She got to her feet and began to make a run for it. But, Grace heard Charles not far behind, and knew her only way to escape was to try and teleport. She didn't even focus on the where part just the 'Get out of here right now' part. She gathered her energy, and in a flash of light, disappeared.

 **December 7th, 5:10 am Age 2207, Chargestone Cave:**

Nathan stared at the gorgeous blue crystals in the ceiling. The electrically charged gems looked like thousands of priceless sapphires, gleaming and glowing with a faint blue glow. Of course if he touched one he would be in for quite the shock.

' _Heh, at least I can still make puns.'_ Nathan chuckled lightly. This area of chargestone cave had always brought his emotions back under his control. Something about the blue glow of the crystals always brought him wonder and managed to calm him, not matter how often he came here. He was standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking a chasm of the blue gems. The pulsed with electricity, each bolt dancing across the crystals like miniature lightning storms. It was truly a beautiful area. He wished he could just abandon his rather mundane and sad life, live on the lamb and set up shop here. It was secluded, away from people and from what he had seen, not very many Pokémon traversed through this portion of the cave. He had only ever seen a Klink and a Pikachu pass by and they would just scurry into whatever small crevices they could fit into. He felt lucky for his rather average size. He was just small enough to crawl through a slit in the wall and get to his favorite spot.

To be frank, it was really quite incredible that he was even alive to see this. After the Frozen Plasma incident 5 years ago, millions of people across the region lost almost everything. It took all of the gym leaders, the previous elite four, the champion and three heroes to put an end to it. Even with all those incredible strong trainers fighting, Unova did not escape without casualties. He and his family lives in Opelucid City at the time of the attack, the first city to get hit. After that came Mistralton and Iccerus and so much more. It was horrifying.

Nathan shook the thoughts from his head. He had just gotten calm. No need to throw his emotions out of whack again.

Nathan sat up and looked at his watch. He had only been here for about ten minutes but it had been enough. He wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon so he might as well leave and get ready for work.

As he stood up, a bright flash of light came from the other side of the cliff face. He was blinded for a few moments, staring right into the flash. As he rubbed the spots out of his eyes, Nathan began to make out a figure on the ground where the light had been. What he saw baffled him.

The figure had green hair that looked as if it fell to her shoulders. It had a red spike protruding from its chest and a white dress down to its knees. He couldn't make out its face as he was too far away, but he could only guess that this was a Pokémon. But, what was it. He had never seen a Pokémon like it before. And how the hell did it get there? What was that light? Why is it in a pool of…? Oh god that's a lot of blood.

Then the Pokémon began to move. Slowly but surely, it managed to push itself up onto its knees, flinching ever three seconds or so, clearly in intense pain. It began to lift its head, and it looked straight at him. It opened its eyes and Nathan caught his breath. They were like two perfectly formed rubies, deep red but at the same time spots of pink whenever the light shown upon them. All he could this was that it… no. She was absolutely beautiful. It took him a few moments to collect his thoughts. He tore his gaze away only when he heard a weak grunt escape the Pokémons' mouth.

* * *

Grace let out a grunt as she hit the ground. It was a hard surface, and she was barely able to stand. Instinctually, she began to scan the area for any sources of emotions. There were two in her vicinity and they were right on top of each other. One was a torrent of different emotions, while the other only had one. Rage.

She began to push herself up on her hands and lift herself onto her knees. She could feel the blood on the floor. She was losing a lot and she needed to do something about it fast. But first she had to hope and pray that neither of these sources of emotion were human. She didn't think she could handle any more run ins with them.

 _'Please don't be human, please don't be human, please don't be…'_ She silently begged. She began to lift her head and open her eyes and when she finally saw the human staring back at her, all she could think of saying was, ' _GOD FUCKING DAMNIT! Of course I had to go and jinx myself. [Oh Grace you moron you. It's way too early in the morning for you to run into any humans.] Well me, guess what dumbass! You ran into TWO of them!'_

Grace let out a small groan at her own lack of luck. She couldn't tell what the second source of emotion was. All she knew was that it was pissed that the human was there. She couldn't blame it really. It seemed like her fate was sealed. She escaped from a murderous human, only to teleport right to another one.

She looked up again and examined the human. He was MUCH smaller than the human that was using her as a living punching bag just a few minutes ago. Maybe she'd be able to fight him off.

She was just about to get up when she sensed something she hadn't expected to come from the human. Or rather a lack of something. She couldn't feel any malice. No hatred, no fear, no intent to cause her harm. Instead she felt something she hadn't felt in years. Concern. Sure there was a mix of confusion and wonderment, but out of everything she felt, the strongest feeling was that of concern. Why? Why was this human concerned for her. Humans saw Pokémon as tools to make money, for sex, for power. They saw them as weapons to use to fight others of their own kind. She had suffered at the hands of an awful, monster of a human for years who felt nothing but that lust of power, the adrenaline when he beat her or raped her. She just couldn't describe it.

When Grace looked back up, she saw that the human was gone. Panicking, she began looking around wildly, trying to see where he went. Then there from the left, she saw him. The human was approaching her slowly, almost methodically. Her eyes widened and her panic grew. She began to scoot backwards, trying to get away from him.

[Go away!] She screamed, [Can't you humans just leave me alone!] She knew that to the human it would sound like nothing but gibberish. Hopefully she got her message across. She looked up and saw him continue to approach slowly. The gardevoir used her psychic powers to start hurling pebbles at the human. They would just bounce off his clothing harmlessly, dropping back to the floor. She looked around and saw a bigger rock near her left hand. Grace used the rest of her energy to pick it up and hurl it at the human. It his him right between the eyes. He grabbed his forehead and yelled out in pain. He fell backwards and sat on the floor, still clutching his forehead, a small stream of blood flowing from where he was hit.

"OWWWW! What the hell! I just want to…" He looked up only to see that the strange Pokémon had lost consciousness moments before.

 **December 10th, 9:30 am Age 2207, Nathans' house**

Grace groaned as she began to rouse from her unconscious state. She put her hand on her forehead and groaned again. She had a splitting headache. Not to mention she was starving and thirsty.

The gardevoir started to piece together what had happened. She had teleported away from a fight with a human. Well less of a fight, more of a beating. When she had reached her destination she was in a cave with another human looking at her. He started to come up to her and then she fell…

' _Oh god,'_ She thought, beginning to realize where she was now. She was in room not unlike what she had seen her tormenter stay in, only it was different. This one was decorated differently with portraits of humans holding strange metal objects and screaming. One even had a black marking on it. She was sitting on a bed in the corner of the room. Next to the bed was a small table with a bowl of water on top of it. Wait… WATER!

Grace reached her hands into the bowl, cupping up a scoop of water and drinking it, forgetting where she was for a moment.

"Oh so you're awake. That's good" She heard a voice emanating from the other end of the room. She looked up and her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. That human in the cave was standing at the other end of the room.

Grace screamed and tried to use her psychic powers. But, as soon as she did, she felt light-headed and nauseous. Her headache got worse and she lost her focus.

"Yeah, I wouldn't do that if I were you. You lost a hell of a lot of blood and I'd rather you not reopen your wounds after I just bandaged them.

She looked up at the human and then quickly down at herself. She couldn't believe her eyes. Not only were there fresh bandages, the less sever wounds that were still exposed had been cleaned and were scabbing over.

"Since you lost so much blood, it's gonna take you a couple of days to fully get back on your feet. You should rest but I won't stop you from leaving if you want to. That's really up to you. Here," Nathan placed a bowl of berries down on the ground near where he was standing and he gave it a shove with his foot. "It would be a good idea for you to eat a bit. It'll help you get your strength back. If you need anything I'll be downstairs." He began to walk out in the hall when he stopped and said, "Oh, my name is Nathan, by that way. And that's my bed that you have been asleep on. I have been using the couch. You're welcome."

She stared, dumbstruck at what had just happened. Not only had the human patched her up, but he was giving her food and water and he gave her a bed to sleep on. He was clearly different than the other humans she had met. He didn't really seem like he cared about what she did. He was more concerned about her getting her strength back. Was he really genuinely concerned for her?

… No, she still can't trust him. As kind as he has been to her, Grace knew that she couldn't trust a human…

But this one seemed different. It intrigued her.

' _GAH!'_ She sighed, ' _What the hell did I do to deserve this!'_

She was conflicted as to what she would do. Should she stay and wait for her strength to come back, and put her faith in this human?

Or should she leave and never look back?

After a few moments of deliberation she decided she would do a mix of both. She would leave now, but she would start to follow this human around when she had her strength back. She wanted to analyze him, see why he had done what he did.

About an hour later Nathan went back upstairs to check on the Pokémon. When he got up to his room, he was unsurprised to see that she had left by… jumping out of the window.

He noticed that the bowl of water was slightly less filled than before and that there were a few sitrus berries missing. Nathan shrugged, hoped she would do well out there, turned off the light and closed the door.

 **And that's a wrap. I really hope you enjoyed it. Please, if you did, review the story. I am always looking to improve my writing and I'm excited to hear feedback.**

 **Please be polite in any criticisms you have. Don't get me wrong if you have criticisms please share them, just know that if you attempt to flame me over the internet then you are really wasting your time. :)**

 **Have a good day everyone, I am planning to post this on a weekly/bi-weekly basis depending on how busy I am with college and work. Thanks for the read!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow, okay, I didn't expect this to gain the attention it did. Thanks for all the reviews, follows and favorites, it really means a lot.**

 **I struggled a little writing chapter two. It was hard to develop the characters a bit more without giving too much away. If you couldn't tell this story is going to be a bit dialogue heavy. I will include action scenes and battles and stuff, but the primary focus of the story is the development of the relationship between these two nut cases and how they fight and defeat their inner demons.**

 **So with that out of the way, the cringy I don't own Pokemon thing.**

 **In the video game industry, Pokemon has dominated the handheld market, gaining a considerable fanbase in the process.**

 **It is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak,** **Shigeru Miyamoto and Satoshi Taijiri**

 **This is my story**

 ***dun dun***

 **December 15th, 7:30 am Age 2207, Route 6 near Mistralton Cave**

Nathan walked across the narrow bridge leading from the research lab. He had just finished his morning walk to chargestone cave and was heading back to Driftveil, admiring the view the route offered. The river beneath him shown in a dull orange, reflecting the morning sun. Wild Basculin swam up the stream, continuously nipping at each other's tail fins to decide who would lead the group. Nathan chuckled and moved off the bridge, spotting two Pidove in the process. They were snuggled up together in a small nest built in the crook of a branch. He smiled at the two and continued on his way, his hair blowing helplessly in the morning air.

Nathan had been coming to chargestone cave each morning since the strange Pokémon had left his house. However, in each of the five days he came, he had not seen a single trace of her. Nathan wanted to know if she was alright, see how she was healing up. But he hadn't found even a single bandage.

Nathan let out a short sigh. _'Well, she has moved on, I suppose I should too at this point. I'll be late for work if I don't hurry up.'_ He transitioned into a light jog, his open hoody flapping in the wind.

Grace let out a long breath. She had been careless in picking where she would hide. The human almost saw her. She groaned as she came out from behind the tree across from the bridge. She looked back down the path to see him running back towards that city he lived in. She slumped against the tree, breathing out a small sigh of relief.

She had been following him for five days now and hadn't really accomplished much. She thought it would be easy; follow him around, see how he ticks, what he does. She had, to a degree, learned what he does during the day. He would spend a large portion of it inside a building with a red rooftop near where he lived, and that when he was in there, he was happy. There were tons of different emotions in there, those of human and Pokémon alike. Some of worry, or anger. She felt sadness mixed in with fear, only for both of those feeling to be replaced by joy a while later.

She couldn't wrap her mind around it. She had seen those buildings all over Hoenn but had never been inside of one. What was it, what is its purpose? There was so much about humans she didn't and couldn't understand. She also didn't get why he felt so much Joy in there, and next to nothing out here. It was like he is an emotionless husk. An unfeeling, cold abyss that was only filled when he was in there… or in that cave. Though when he was in that cave, she felt something else entirely. He absolutely radiated concern for her whenever he was in there, and she had no idea why. This human was so frustratingly confusing. The first time she saw him, he was filled to the brim with negative emotions. He was lonely and sad and angry at something all at the same time. And now it was all dominated by his concern over HER of all things. He was so hard to decipher, an issue which she had not known she could have until now.

She decided it was time to go against her better judgment. As much as she hated the idea of going back into that city, she wasn't really left with much of a choice. Either remain a full blown stalker until she finally figured him out. Or… rip the bandage off and confront him directly on this matter. It wasn't something she could put away in the back of her mind so easily. He decided to save her life, rather than let her bleed out in that cave. She had to know why and she needed to know now.

 **December 15th, 8:00 pm Age 2207, Outside the Driftveil Pokémon Center**

Nathan walked out the sliding glass doors, waving goodbye to Nurse Joy as he left. She waved back at him, giving him a small smile. He returned the smile and began the walk home. He stretched his arms upwards, stifling a yawn. He had been treating Pokémon all day. It was exhausting work, but he always felt a sense of accomplishment from his work.

When he had gotten to Driftveil, it was Nurse Joy who helped him the most. She gave him a job, trained him to treat Pokémon, payed for his hotel for the first week. She was the one human being he actually gave his trust anymore. Everything she had done for him was so selfless. She put the lives of trainers and their Pokémon first, before her own personally comfort.

At first the work was just that. Manuel labor. He would be the one cleaning and washing the floors, performing very basic repairs, and movement of supply shipments they received. After a month of working here, Nathan asked if she could train him to be a nurse himself. 6 months go by in the blink of an eye and Nathan is able to treat certain wounds and poisons. Before her death, his mother was a successful Pokémon breeder and his father a world renowned surgeon for both humans and Pokémon. He had been surrounded by professionals in the field of medicine his whole life, it was really all he could think to do with it.

Nathan continued trudging along and came up to the corner where his house was. It was a small, two floor house; its tall stature but slim form made it look a little odd, but it was home to him. He didn't need much and was grateful nurse joy had managed to snag him the place for cheap. She was sort of a central figure in Driftveil, being the one that managed almost all of the medical care for both Pokémon and humans in the area. It'd be a safe bet to assume that she could get a few things to swing her way every once in a while.

As Nathan turned the corner and walked down the street, he noticed something odd. His bedroom window was open. He always made sure that his doors and windows were shut and locked before he left for work every day, it was unlike him to forget.

A knot began to form in his stomach. Had someone broken into his house? On this side of town? Normally break-ins occurred on the south side of town, it was rare to see one up north.

He walked up to his door and his heart began to race. He could feel the veins on the side of his head beat, blood rushing through them as his anxiety grew. What would he face in there? Would they have a weapon of some kind? Would they even attack or would they just run?

Dozens of different scenarios raced through his head as he gripped the door knob. Whatever it was, this was his house and he was not about to let someone get away with breaking in. Nathan breathed in deep, steeled his nerves, swung the door open and walked in.

And was promptly greeted by his empty kitchen.

Now a look of confusion took over Nathans face. So did he really just forget to close the window before he left? Did he really just panic for nothing. He let out a deep sigh, thankful nobody saw his little anxiety attack. He brushed back his hair as he set his things down and began to climb the stairs.

 _'Well, on the bright side, it was a bit stuffy in there,'_ Nathan thought, _'Maybe this aired out the room.'_

He reached the top of the stairs and grabbed the knob on his door, twisting it and throwing the door open. He walked in, turned on the light, and his let out a weak scream at what he saw.

Sitting on his bed, legs crossed and head resting on her hands, was the strange Pokémon from the cave.

Grace couldn't help it. She giggled at the humans' reaction to her. She could feel confusion and fear radiating off of him.

 _'It's afraid of me,'_ She thought, ' _I'm faltered.'_

She gave the human a wave, a small smirk spreading across her face. He remained rigid, his fear beginning to melt away, being replaced with anger.

"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!" he screamed. "YOU BROKE INTO MY HOUSE?! WHY?! HOW?!"

She tensed up slightly, thinking he would attack her. But he just remained still. When he didn't, Grace relaxed, flashing him a cocky grin.

[Oh, you know, I just wanted to stop by, have a chat, and ask for a cup of sugar. I am making a cake, you see, and just ran out. You're welcome to some when I finish it.] She said with pride.

Her grin slowly washed away when she looked at his face. He looked utterly confused. Like what she just said went in one ear and out the…

Her cheeks turned red and she remembered something rather important. He couldn't understand her. How could she forget such a simple thing!

"Well, I don't speak Pokémon so I have no clue what you just said. However, by your demeanor, I can only assume it had something to do with you breaking into my house." He said, his voice still laced with hints of anger.

She gulped and nodded, slightly glad he didn't know that she just bragged about her break in. She wished she knew how to form a temporary link with him just so she could get the answers she wanted. But she had never had any reason to up until now. She wasn't very experienced and didn't have the slightest idea of how to do it. Her break in was now pointless. There was no way he would be able to understand what she would say.

For some reason she felt ashamed. Even though she despised humans, this one saved her life, and how does she repay him? By breaking and entering with absolutely nothing to show for it.

She looked up at him, her eyes filled with sadness and regret. She turned to jump out the window and leave. She would just accept defeat and leave the area, and hopefully never see this human again. She stopped when she felt something grab her shoulder.

"Stop. Are you seriously going to jump out that window again?" He asked her. Grace gave him a small nod, grabbing his hand and taking it off her shoulder. "For god sake I already patched you up once and I would rather not have to fix your broken leg."

She froze. She felt it again. She felt his concern. It was masked by annoyance and anger, but she could sense it.

 _'But why?'_ she wondered, _'I just broke into his fucking house and he feels concerned about me jumping out? It doesn't make any sense!'_ This human was pissing her off. She didn't understand him, and it only made her angry. She was angry that he was different. She was angry that he was twisting her view of humans. She was pissed that he left her dumbfounded.

She turned to him now, her eyes burning with fury. She didn't care that she couldn't understand him anymore, she had to get this off her chest. [Why are you so concerned for me?! I don't get it, you humans see us as tools. Tools used to turn a profit and please you fuckers! Weapons for you to use to fight against our own kind! I have been mistreated for years by you creatons, and yet, you are concerned for my well-being! I don't understand, why you are different than every other human I have ever come in contact with?!] She stood up and began walking towards him, causing him to start backing up. [It just doesn't make sense! You could have left me to bleed out and die back there but you didn't! You decided to do the opposite and save my life. Why was I worth saving to you? I don't even know you and yet… and yet…] Grace began to trail off.

Even though Nathan didn't understand her, he could tell she was unbelievably upset. It was hard to watch. He reached out to grab her to try and comfort her. But as soon as she saw this, Grace hit him with confusion, slamming him against the wall.

[Don't touch me! I hate humans, none of you can be trusted! I hate…] She looked up. There was blood splattered on the wall where his head had hit. He was slumped on the ground, completely still.

Grace stared in horror at what she did. There was so much blood. It oozed down the wall, the crimson liquid dripping down like a fresh coat of paint.

 _'Oh god, oh shit, oh crap.'_ Tears began to well up in her eyes. ' _I didn't mean to force him that hard, I just wanted him to back off I didn't mean to…'_ She was interrupted by a weak groan that escaped the humans mouth.

It took her a few moments to process that he was still alive, just out cold. She sighed in relief and a few tears spilled over. She wiped them away and slowly walked towards his still figure. The wound wasn't as bad as she initially thought, but it was still nasty. Through his hair she could see a somewhat large gash. It was big, but it was also shallow, and looked like it was beginning to clot. He would definitely be feeling it in the morning though.

Grace backed up a little and plopped down in the middle of the room. She took in a deep breath, attempting to calm herself.

 _'Well, bright side is I'm not a murderer. Down side, this guy probably wouldn't want to answer any of my questions after he wakes up, even if he could understand me.'_

She looked at him, feeling a pang of relief hit her heart. Even though it was already filled with sadness. Even though she hated humans, Grace couldn't help feeling awful about hurting this one like she did. All he had done was help her. All she has done was hurt him… and break into his house… and throw rocks at him.

Her head dropped and she groaned. _'What the hell am I doing?'_ She thought. ' _The whole time I have been in this stupid place has been a living hell. Not as much as before I was here, but still hell.'_

After moping for a little while, grace stood up and decided that she should at least clean and dress the wound. She walked downstairs and looked for anything she could use. Bandages, a bowl she filled with water, towels. It wasn't much but it would have to do. She climbed the stairs and entered the bedroom, hoping he was still unconscious. Luckily he was, so she got to work

After about 45 minutes, she finished wrapping the final bandages, and Grace stepped back to admire her work. After years of having to patch herself up, she had gotten pretty good at it. Just like before, it wasn't the best work, but it would manage. The towel she had used was soaked with blood, and her palms were masked with a tinge of red. She washed her hands in the bowl and dried them with the remaining clean towel. Grace looked at the spot on the wall where she slammed him. At this point the blood was dried and caked onto the wall. It'd be a pain in the ass to clean it. Either way right now she had to get the human into his bed.

The gardevoirs eyes began to glow blue and she lifted her hand at the human. He lifted off the ground slightly, still limp. She began to move him over to his bed, but she started to feel light headed. By the time she put him down on the bed, she was Gagging, trying to keep her lunch down.

' _Well than,'_ she thought, ' _that's never happened before.'_

She sat down on the bed, waiting for the world to stop spinning. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths, trying to collect herself. Once she composed herself, Grace took a look at the human, this time really studying his face. He looked young for a human, and his hair fell to the side. Though it looked black normally, in the moonlight it shown a deep purple. And he was handsome. Like, really handsome. Grace couldn't help finding herself staring. She was brought back into the real world when she noticed something odd. There was a tear rolling down his face. She put her hand to her face and wiped away a tear of her own. Why was she crying?

Then she felt it. Misery. His misery. He felt sad and alone. Scared with nowhere left to run. It felt awful.

Whatever dream he was having, it wasn't a good one, and she could feel it. But… she could only feel the emotions of those that are conscious. She had never felt them coming from someone who was unconscious. So why could she feel his?

' _Ugh,'_ she groaned, ' _this whole night has been one strange thing after the next. I'm exhausted.'_ She looked back down at the human who lay beside her. His eyes were clenched shut, and he was rolling around.

She sighed and reached to put her hand on his head. She flinched, remembering how she had attacked him at the thought of trying to touch her. She closed her eyes and put that thought at the back of her mind. She had caused his current state so she was going to do what she could to fix it. She reached out and put her hand on his forehead. Grace allowed calming thoughts and emotions flow to him, tricking his mind into thinking everything was alright. Almost immediately, his thrashing stopped but his eyes remained clenched. His breathing returned to normal and he lay still, sound asleep

 _'That's it, I'm done,'_ she thought as the last of her energy was taken from her. _'Hopefully you don't mind me sleeping on the floor, because I'm not sure if I'd make it back to the cave at this point.'_

Grace slid off the bed and crashed onto the floor. She had used up all her energy on this guy and was now fighting to stay conscious. Eventually, she allowed sleep to take her, drifting off to the land of dreams.

 **December 16th, 4am Age 2207, Nathans room**

Nathan groaned in pain as he woke up. His head felt like it was splitting and he was dizzy as all hell. He thought back to the last thing he remembered. He was just about to grab the Pokémon and comfort her when something forced him away and… that was it. It was all a foggy, his memories jumping around his brain.

He slowly sat up and looked around the room. He was still in his clothes from before he passed out. But now he also felt something wrapped around his head. He reached up and felt bandages wrapped around his cranium, holding it snug.

"My god what happened," he groaned. He felt around his head, touching something wet on the back of his head. He pulled his hand back around and his eyes widened. His fingertips had traces of blood on them. Did he hit his head on something? That would explain why he couldn't remember much.

Nathan tried to stand up but lost his balance and the world began to spin again. He fell back on his bed, nausea taking his stomach for a ride. He reached out and grabbed the bowl that the water had been in and emptied the contents of his stomach into it.

'Well whatever happened, I now have a concussion. This just keeps getting better and better.'

After a few minutes of gathering himself, Nathan slowly tried to get up again. He was still dizzy but could at least stand. He was about to start walking to the door when he heard a low moan. He looked down and saw that the Pokémon from earlier was at his feet, sound asleep. It was dark so he couldn't make out the details of her face, but for some reason, he felt fear. It was overwhelming. Overpowering. But it wasn't his. It was hers. He was feeling her fear.

'Okay, seriously what the hell happened.' Nathan wondered, a little on edge now.

Careful not to wake her, Nathan leaned down to try and get a better look at her. She was sleeping on the ground with nothing to cover her, using some of his dirty clothes as a pillow. Her face was contorted and twist, and even though it was dark in the room, he could see her tears sliding down her face. She was having a nightmare, and a bad one from what he could tell. From what Fennel had told him, the Pokémon looked exactly how Nathan would if he was having a nightmare. He didn't want to leave her like this. He could tell just how much some dreams could hurt, and just how real they felt. Nathan grabbed the pillow off his bed and moved to place it under her head, pushing the dirty clothing out of the way. He also grabbed the blanket from his bed and covered her with it. If he had a concussion he wouldn't need either right now. Then he did something his mother used to do when he would have nightmares as a kid. He slowly pet the Pokémon's head, his hand gliding through her soft green hair, praying that she wouldn't wake up and punch him.

Slowly but surely, her face relaxed and the tears stopped flowing. Her mouth even formed into a small smile. Once he was sure she wouldn't wake up, he stopped petting. He got up slowly, using the leg of his bed for support. He crossed the room and grabbed the xtransiever the lay flat on his desk. Nathan dialed one of the only two numbers saved and waited for the person on the other line to pick up. He heard a low groan from the other end when they did.

"Nathan, its only 4:25 in the morning what could you need at this hour?" The woman questioned.

Nathan, shut his eyes and silently cursed, his headache getting worse. His eyes had an extreme sensitivity to light, confirming his prior "diagnosis."

"Well good morning to you too sunshine, how are you this fine morning?" all Nathan saw was the person on the other line give him the finger.

"Don't be smart with me, tell me what's up." The woman asked.

Nathan chuckled lightly. "I somehow hit my head last night and am 99% certain I have a concussion. Think you could grab some stuff from the center and help me out a little?"

"Yeah, sure give me 20 minutes. Also if you are upstairs, stay there. Would rather you don't lose your balance on the stairs and die a slow painful death. I like you better alive." The woman teased.

"Yeah yeah Joy, I'll stay upstairs. Bring the portable MRI too I want to know just how bad the bruising is."

Nurse Joy gave him and acknowledging grunt and ended the call. Even if she was snarky as all hell, Joy was a good friend. Though that name didn't really suit her personality.

Nathan walked back over his bed, careful not to step on the Pokémon. He sat with his back leaning against the wall, staring at the other side of his room. He tried to recall what happened last night.

The Pokémon currently asleep on his floor freaked out about something, though he had no idea what. He tried to comfort her and was hit by some invisible force, sending him into the wall. After putting two and two together, he came to the conclusion that it was her that sent him flying. Meaning she was either a psychic type, or that she just knew psychic type moves. Or both.

He didn't know how to feel about what she did. On one hand she flung him against the wall and gave him a concussion. But on the other hand, he woke up in his bed with bandages wrapped around his head to stop any bleeding. Meaning she had treated whatever wound he gained and moved him to his bed. More than likely, her attack was probably out of panic, and he guessed that she didn't actually mean to hurt him.

He lowered his head, not having the energy to think any more on the matter. His head felt like someone had taken an axe to his skull. The world would spin around him, his body feeling like it was constantly in motion. Even in the dim light of the moon, he couldn't keep his eyes open for very long. The glow just made the pain even worse. It was hard to tell which way was up and which was down.

Nathan heard his front door open, signifying that Joy had arrived. He heard the creek of his stairs as she ascended to the top. His door opened slowly, and a pink haired girl poked her head through.

She gave him a smirk that said, 'Way to go dumbass. Giving yourself a concussion in your own home takes real skill.'

He scowled back at the nurse as she walked in.

She turned back to him but stopped halfway, instead staring ahead near his bed.

"I didn't realize you had become a trainer, Nathan. I thought you didn't like battles," Joy whispered, clearly puzzled by the Pokémon.

"I'm not. She actually… broke into my house. Also threw me against the wall. Which gave me a concussion…" Nathan trailed off, his voice getting quieter as he spoke.

"Well than why the fuck is she here! If she is that much trouble, throw her ass out!" Joy growled.

"First of all, you know I am not the kind to just throw a Pokémon to the side. Humans, sure, I'll shove my foot up their ass and show them the door. But Pokémon, especially this one, I just can't bring myself to do it. Besides, she has certainly peaked my interest. I found her a few days ago in chargestone. She was bleeding out. Also before she threw me against the wall, she got really upset about something. It was really strange and I want to know why. She patched me up and took care of me while I was out, too. So, needless to say, I'm intrigued."

Joy gave him a small nod before pulling a portable MRI scanner out of her bag. She turned on the device and mapped his head, searching for any swelling in his brain. Sure enough, she found some.

"Yup, there is a bit of bruising on your parietal lobe," She said, being careful not to touch his head. "Here, can you feel this?" Joy pinched Nathans arm, causing him to yelp in pain.

"Alright, so it looks like the damage isn't too severe. Still, I'm pretty sure you know what you should and shouldn't do while you are concussed but I'm gonna tell you anyway. Don't sleep for tonight and possibly tomorrow, don't want your lights going out for good. It's gonna suck but hey, maybe you shouldn't have pissed off the green Akira over there." She gave him a condescending smirk, almost laughing when he shoved her lightly. "Avoid any visual or auditory stimuli for the next few days. Also take these every day at breakfast for the next month or so." She handed Nathan a bottle of pain meds. "You can stay home from work for the next few weeks. If you try to come before January is over, I will personally drag you back here, got it?"

"As long as I am still getting payed." Joy rolled her eyes and Nathan chuckled, wincing as his headache spiked.

"That's what you get for being a smartass. I'll handle your utilities and groceries for a while and I'll give you some money every once in a while so you aren't cooped up in here 24/7. Otherwise, don't be a dumbass and you should be fine."

Nathan nodded and smiled. He had no clue what he would do without this woman. She has been a good friend to him for the longest time, and he would always be grateful.

"Thanks so much Joy. I would be completely screwed if I didn't have you as a friend." He stood up and gave the girl a hug. She was warm and inviting. Her long pink hair tickled his fingers while they embraced.

"I know. I'm pretty great." She giggled as Nathan grabbed her shoulder and pushed her away, holding back a laugh himself. Joy picked up her bag and started walking towards the door. When she grabbed the knob, she stopped, turned back to Nathan and said, "Oh, and tell your new friend that she isn't very good at pretending to sleep. She moves around just a bit too much." She winked as she walked out and closed the door.

A few moments pass and Nathan hears movement behind him. He turns around and eyed the Pokémon as she turned to face him. The two stared into the others eyes for what seemed like an eternity, scanning for any sign of hostility. After a few moments, Nathan decided to try and break this awkward tension. He knew they would get nowhere fast if one of them didn't at least try and speak.

"Well, I'm sure you already know this by now, but my name is Nathan. I don't know how we will get any info across, but I'd like to talk if that's alright."

The Pokémon averted his gaze and pondered his words. After a minute or so she looked back to him and began to speak. Only this time, as she spoke, Nathan made out four words, clear as day.

"My name is Grace."


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you guys so much for your patience with this one. I had an exam for calc 2 this week and school has to take priority to this, so I didn't have a chance to write till this weekend. Again, I appreciate your patience and support.**

 **So uh … wow. Not including the update this story was already at 560 views. This has gotten way more support than I thought it would and I am very glad to hear your thoughts in the review. Thanks for all you who have reviewed, followed or favorited this story. It's my first time publishing my writing and it's really humbling to see that people actually enjoy it.**

 **Now, I want to start interacting with my readers a bit more than I do. So each new chapter I am gonna ask a question and if you feel like giving me an answer, send me a pm. I will do my best to make sure they aren't all about Pokémon, but it is a Pokémon fic so most of them will be Pokémon related.**

 **I am also gonna start putting responses to reviews hear in the A.N. at the beginning of each chapter starting with the next chapter. So, if you have any questions about the fic or just in general want to see that I do in fact read reviews, leave a review and I will answer as many as I can.**

 **So the question for the week actually starts with a bit of a story. If you have ever played any of the GameCube Pokémon spinoff games (Coliseum, G.O.D) you probably now that they are f****** awesome. I recently started and am close to finishing a play through of Pokémon XG Next Gen, an incredible rom hack of Pokémon XD Gale of Darkness. My question is, what is your favorite spinoff game in the franchise if you have played any of them? My personal favorite Is Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky. PM me if you have a response. Also I highly recommend checking out XG if you enjoyed XD on the GameCube. Just know that you will need a good pc to run the emulator and game smoothly.**

 **Without further ado, I don't own Pokémon, enjoy the chapter**

Nathan nearly fell out of his chair upon hearing her voice. Her voice was soft but at the same time sounded cold and stern. He could tell she was still wary of something but he wasn't sure what it was. After a minute or so, Nathan realized he was gawking at her. He collected himself and tried to think of what to say, but the splitting headache he had made all his thoughts cloudy and disconnected. It was hard for him to process that a Pokémon just spoke to him.

"So, did you just go totally brain dead on me or what?" the Pokémon asked.

Nathan looked up at her, still trying to grasp what just happened.

"Did… did you just speak?" Nathan asked, hesitant to ask how he could understand her.

"Umm… yeah," the Pokémon looked extremely confused. Suddenly, a look of realization formed on her face. "Wait, you can understand me?!"

Nathan winced as she yelled, putting his hands on his ears in the process. He was still sensitive to sound, and this Pokémon yelling was not helping his headache.

"Damn, not so loud please. In case you hadn't heard, I am currently concussed and screaming at the top of your lungs does not make it better."

She glared at him, clearly not taking to his sarcasm. Nevertheless she brought her voice down a few decibels.

"Well, that makes things a hell of a lot easier. I have some things I want to ask you." She said, an cold air layering her words.

Things she wanted to ask him? What could she possibly want to know about him? He wondered what the hell he had gotten himself into. Why this Pokémon broke into his house, gave him a concussion and now wanted to interrogate him. It sounded like something out of an over the top action movie. All that was missing was the countless number of explosions.

He tried, and failed, to collect his thoughts once more. There was no way he could answer anything in this state. But from the look on her face, something told him she wouldn't take no for an answer.

Nathan sighed. "Fine, I'll answer whatever you have to ask. But give me a few hours to try and collect myself. There is no way I can stay focused long enough to give you any clear answers. I need to let these pain meds kick in before anything else, then it might be easier.

The Pokémon grumbled and sighed at his response, obviously disappointed. However, she gave him a small nod before glaring daggers at him again.

"Alright. At 11:00 we will sit down and chat. If you want to go back to sleep feel free to use the bed or continue sleeping on the floor. Your choice, I don't really care which. I am gonna head downstairs, maybe make something to eat, though I'd be surprised if I could keep it down. If you want anything just come downstairs and… ask, I suppose." It was still mind boggling that he could understand what she was saying.

She gave him another nod before moving back over to her makeshift bed. She lay down, facing away from Nathan.

Nathan took one more look at the Pokémon. She had very much peeked his interest. For some reason, he could understand her now when he couldn't before. It was a strange sensation to be able to cross this language barrier and be able to communicate with a creature such as her in a way most humans only dreamed of. He wanted to know more about her.

For some reason, even after she had broken into his house and hurt him rather severely, he decided to show her a modicum of trust. He got up and went downstairs, hoping that he wouldn't come back and get forced back into the wall. He opened the door, took one more look at her, then walked out and closed the door.

Grace heard the door close behind the human. She already knew it would be damn near impossible for her to get anymore sleep after what just happened. How could he understand what she was saying? He is a human, there isn't any reason why he should have any clue what she was saying. Not to mention, even though others of her kind are able to speak to others telepathically, it required a close connection to who they wanted to speak with. That was a kind of connection she never had before. She had always been distant from almost everyone, even those of her own species. She had learned to be independent from others when she was a Ralts, and left her home outside Petalburg city as a Kirlia. When that awful human captured her, he forced her to fight over and over and over. She would be covered and wounds and if she lost, he would beat her mercilessly. All the fighting forced her to evolve before she was ready to. It was something she couldn't stop. It was something she had to do in order to survive, rather than experience it when she was ready to evolve. She hated humans because of that monster. So why is it that this human could understand her when she wasn't even close to him?

She pondered the events before she fell asleep. However the more she thought about it the more nothing notable came to mind. She sent him flying, he hit his head, and she patched him up. The only thing out of place was her nausea when she used her psychic powers to move him to the bed. Did that change something? Or was it just her exhaustion?

She shook her head and rubbed her temples. She was getting a headache from all this thinking. It all didn't make sense. She decided to lay in the bed. It was much more comfortable than the floor, even with the things the human had given her. Plus he did say she could use the bed, so no harm done.

She lay her head back, lowering it onto the soft pillow. It made her feel safe and secure. She was surprised to find that it became hard to keep her eyes open. As much as she fought to stay awake, to not slip away into another nightmare, she couldn't fight her exhaustion anymore, and was pulled back into the world of sleep.

 **December 16th, 7:40 am Age 2207, Nathans House**

Whatever pain meds Joy gave him when she came by had really done the trick. While not completely gone, his headache was barely noticeable anymore. He was able to think and process what had happened earlier. He was able to speak with a Pokémon. It was incredible. He had heard of telepathic Pokémon, but it was rare even amongst psychic types. But of a Pokémon speaking English? It was unheard of.

Nathan couldn't help cracking a small smile. As a little kid he had always dreamed of being able to talk with Pokémon and now that dream was coming true. Though he also chuckled about the circumstances that made this come about. Yes he was able to talk to a Pokémon. But only after it broke in to his house and decided to say fuck you to physics and throw him against a wall. For all he knew, this could be one weird lucid dream, even if it felt so real.

Nathans thoughts were interrupted by the low growl of his stomach. He didn't realize how hungry he was. He didn't even get to eat the night before. The nausea had cleared up a bit, so he decided to make some eggs and toast. Something light for the morning.

Nathan opened his fridge and grabbed the remaining two eggs. He cracked them into a bowl and broke the yolks, the dense yellow liquid oozing from the center at a snails' pace. He beat the eggs until the whites and yolks turned into a dark yellow mixture. He then grabbed a pan, turned on the heat, buttered the surface and began to cook.

Grace woke to a savory scent wafting around the room. It was warm and tantalizing, her mouth beginning to water at the scent alone. Her stomach growled and she realized it had been almost a day since she last ate. With hungry eyes, grace eyed the door, contemplating whether she should make the descent to see what the mouth-watering smell was coming from. Her stomach decided for her. It growled again as she shot up out of the bed and crept out the room. The scent was coming from down the stairs. Slowly, she sneaked down the stairs, trying to make as little noise as possible.

She got to the bottom of the stairs and peeked her head around the corner. It was the human. He was doing something at the end of the room. He looked like he was cooking something. Although she couldn't tell what it was, the smell was divine. She had never been much of a cook herself, though it was something she would like to learn.

The human grabbed a plate and scooped a delicious looking omelette onto it. Her mouth began watering at the sight of It. Diced peppers and onions poked out from the yellow flesh, each piece slightly browned and evenly cooked. The trance that omlette put her under was broken when her stomach growled. The human looked up from the plate to see her standing at the bottom of the stairs.

The human` looked at Grace as her cheeks turned a deep crimson. She was embarrassed that she had been caught spying on him, cursing herself for not eating the night before.

"Uh… Hey," he started. "Are you hungry?" He reached out across the table with the plate in his hand.

She took a step back, still wary of him and his motives.

"It's just an omelette." he stated. "I'd recommend you eat it before it gets cold. I'll even turn around so you won't be embarrassed as you eat."

She was surprised at his stern tone. He was adamant about her eating this stuff. Slowly, she walked over to the table. She swiftly grabbed the plate from his hands and was just about to start eating when he held a fork up to her. She took the fork and cut a small piece of the omelette, piercing it with the pointed end and bringing it to her mouth.

She bit down on the eggs and her eyes widened, in awe at what she had just eaten. It was very soft and light, not having much of a taste on its own. But then, a savory flavor exploded in her mouth, dancing across her taste buds like an elegant dance. The sweetness of the peppers and onions melded together, a perfect combination.

She heard a snicker and looked up at the human. He was covering his mouth, presumably at her. She glared at the human, holding back the urge to attack him outright.

"Sorry," He said through chuckles, "I have just never seen someone eat an omelette so eagerly."

She held her angry stare. "Well excuse me for never having tasted human food. Doesn't help that I haven't eaten for a full day."

"Look I'm sorry. I couldn't control myself. I just hope you liked them."

She continued to glare at him. He washed the plate she had been using. She felt something she didn't expect. He was happy. He was happy that she ate his food. But wasn't he hungry? He obviously made them for himself, and yet he was happy that she had them instead. He was so unbelievably strange.

"Why did you let me have those?"

Nathan looked over his shoulder, flashing her a small smile in the process. "Well because you were hungry, genius." He gave her a small grin and turned back to the dish.

She looked down at the table. Why was he still putting her needs over his own? It perplexed her. She got up from her seat and proceeded to the stairs. She stopped when she heard something break. Grace walked back down to the first floor. She looked to where the sound came from, seeing the plate Nathan was washing had shattered on the floor. He was clutching his head, his face scrunched up in pain.

For some reason, she felt concerned. She shook her head, the feeling leaving as quickly as it came. She walked back upstairs and went into the room she had been staying in. There was still a few hours before they were supposed to talk so she decided to get some more sleep.

Grace climbed onto the bed and lay her head back down on the pillow. She took a small breath, closed her eyes and fell into the world of dreams.

Nathan sat on the chair nearest him. His head was pounding. It felt like he got hit by a truck. He stared at the hand that was holding the plate. It was still shaking but he was regaining feeling in it. It His hand had gone numb at the same time his head began to hurt. He was taking heavy, ragged breaths. He had no idea what caused the sudden episode. Just that it was over as quickly as it started. The most logical thought was that it was because of his concussion. But the symptom wasn't consistent with the symptoms of a concussion.

This wasn't something he could shake off. It was too concerning to just ignore. He decided to call Joy, see if she would have any idea what just happened.

He picked up his phone and dialed one of the few numbers saved. It rang for a few moments, the line was picked up and Nathan heard a rather sarcastic sounding girl on the other end.

"Oh you miss me already Nathan? It has only been a few hours and yet I am already hearing from you."

Nathan didn't bother to fight back. "Listen Joy, I have an issue. First off, are you sure that you only saw some minor damage in the MRI?"

Joy was taken aback by his stern response. She had expected him to at least be a bit of a smartass. "Yeah, I'm sure. Just minor bruising to your parietal. Why, did something happen?"

"Yeah, even with the pain meds my head is splitting, and I lost feeling in my left hand for a few seconds.

Joy was shocked. Had she missed something? She was positive she had checked everything thoughroly. There was just some minor some bruising. "I'm positive there was nothing else. Besides that, what happened is more consistent with the after effects of a stroke, not a concussion. Are you alright now, Nathan?"

"What are you worried about me Joy? I'm touched." Nathan chuckled lightly.

Joy sighed. "Yup you're fine now, asshole."

Nathan sighed. She was genuinely worried about him, and he was grateful for her friendship.

"Thanks for all your help Joy. I'm glad you're worried about me. It means a lot."

"Don't go getting all sappy on me man," Joy said, giggling. "Just let me know if something else happens. Please. I am worried about you."

"I will, I promise. Take care Joy." Nathan ended the call and put his phone back down. He tried knew it wouldn't be a smart idea to take much more of the pain meds right now, but he needed to be focused during his talk with Grace. He popped one more in his mouth, downing it with some water. The shaking of his hand stopped, but he wasn't sure for how long that would be the case.

He looked up at the clock on his wall. It was almost nine, two hours until his talk with the strange Pokémon.

He decided he would take a walk, but remain close to his house, just in case something were to happen. Nathan got up and grabbed his jacket, pulling it on as he walked out the door.

 **December 16th, 11:00 am Age 2207, Nathans House**

Grace slowly fluttered her eyes open, wiping the sleep from her face. Her sleep hadn't been very restful, but wasn't full of nightmares like it usually was. She stretched and yawned, feeling just as tired as she was before she fell asleep. She heard a door open downstairs and decided to go see what it was.

She got downstairs as Nathan was taking off his coat, hanging it on the small coat rack next to it. He looked up and saw her, looking at her with a quite flat aphect.

"So, how was your nap? Are you ready to talk?" Nathan asked.

She nodded, noting the lack of the warmth he had in his voice earlier. Clearly something besides her was on his mind. She decided not to pry into anything that didn't directly concern her. She just wanted to get her answers and leave.

They sat down at the table. There was a small bit of tension in the air as they stared each other down, waiting to see who would talk first.

Nathan decided to break the silence. "So, how do we want to do this? I know you have questions you want answered. I have some as well but I think we should set some ground rules. If you don't want to answer something, you don't have to. If you get uncomfortable we can stop. I will do my best to answer whatever questions you have."

Grace gave him a small nod. While the tension had lifted a bit, but it still lingered. The two were still uncomfortable, worried about what sort of questions the other would ask.

Once again, Nathan decided to attempt to ease the tension. "Forgive me if this sounds, I don't know, racist. But what are you. I have never seen a Pokémon like you in Unova. Your species isn't native to our region. I'm sorry I couldn't deliver that without sounding awful."

Grace exhaled slightly, glad she wasn't the one to ask the first question. To be honest, she was still wary of the human. As much as she wanted to get answers, she still felt the need to be cautious. He looked him in the eyes and answered. "I'm a Gardevoir. And, yes, I am not from this part of the world. I came from another part of the world that you humans call Hoenn."

Nathan had met her gaze, enchanted by the big beautiful ruby like eyes that adorned her face. After realizing he was staring, Nathan blinked and looked away momentarily. "Well you certainly came a long way. How exactly did you get here?"

"I took a ship. I wasn't sure where it would take me but as long as it took me away from…" Grace stopped dead in her tracks. Memories started flooding back. She had to hold back tears with all her might.

"Away from what?" Nathan was now curious. She didn't leave Hoenn on accident. It was a deliberate action. Was she escaping something or someone? Nathan looked back at her. He was surprised to see the Pokémon trying to hide her anxiety. Whatever this thing she was getting away from was something she clearly didn't want to remember.

"Look, you don't have to answer that. I can tell you're uncomfortable. I don't want to make you feel like you're forced to answer something."

Grace looked at him, surprised at his chivalry. She felt his concern once again, worried that he had made her afraid to answer anything. Even though she had felt it multiple times at this point, the feeling was still shocking. She wasn't used to a human showing her genuine concern. She gave him a weak nod and decided it was her turn to ask a question.

"Why did you save me back in the cave? You don't know me, I'm just some random Pokémon who teleported near you. I attacked you for god's sake. You could have left me to bleed and die in that cave, but you didn't. Why did you save my life?"

Nathan was taken a back at the question. He had thought that anybody else in his position would have done the same thing. He was silent for a few moments, rolling the question over in his head. He decided to give her the only answer he could think of. "I am not one to leave someone I can help. I am trained in medicine and you were bleeding rather heavily. I couldn't just let you die."

Grace was just as confused as before. He just did it because he could? Is that what he was saying? Was it instinct? Or did he think he would get something out of this? No that wasn't it. From what she could gleam from his emotions it was clear he had pure intentions. He wasn't trying to deceive her.

"Why didn't you let me leave when I wanted to? I haven't exactly been kind to you. I've hurt you multiple times. I've eaten your food, I broke into your home. Why are you still being so kind to me? I don't understand."

Nathan was once again shocked. It was almost like she didn't want him to be nice to her. Yes she had hurt him, but it wasn't out of malice. It was fear. Yes she broke in to his house, but he wasn't exactly rolling out the welcome mat to, well, anybody.

"It's just who I am. It's not in my nature to treat someone or something as my lesser. Although I despise what humanity has become and what we have done, I wouldn't be able to bring myself to intentionally bring harm to someone. I think of every living thing as my equal. Humans don't have the write to choose what another being does with its life. We don't have the right to enslave things to our will. Everything on this planet has just as much a right to life as we do. I suppose that's why I decided not to become a trainer. I didn't like the idea of forcing a Pokémon to fight or follow my orders. It's not right."

Grace was stunned. It was absolutely mind blowing to see that this human was so similar to her.

He even decided to not become a trainer because of how humans have used Pokémon. He shared her views on how humans had made Pokémon into tools for battle.

Nathan was starting to get a bit uncomfortable from her staring. It was obvious he had surprised her with his answer but he didn't know why.

"The way I see it, Pokémon should be treated as our partners. Our friends. You are all living beings and you deserve the right to live your lives the way you want to. We humans don't have the right to take you away from your homes, your friends and family. To force you to fight for our entertainment. You should have the option to join us. To fight if you want to. It shouldn't be up to us."

Grace had been left speechless. She was right to think he was different. She was glad she had been wrong about him. He may be weird as all hell to her, but she started feeling like she found someone she could trust in this strange alien land. She looked at him in silence, trying to decide what she would do next.

Nathan returned her gaze. She was certainly the most interesting Pokémon he had ever met. Her responses and actions told him that whatever she had been through, it was caused by human selfishness and malice. It made him sick just thinking about it.

Grace, satisfied that she had gotten her answer, decided to end the interrogation.

"You have given me the answers I wanted to know. I don't have any more questions to ask."

Nathan nodded at her. While he still wanted to know much more about her, he decided to respect her privacy and her wishes. Though, there was one thing he had to know.

"What are you going to do now?" He asked.

It was a question Grace hadn't expected to hear. If she was honest, she had no idea what she would do now. She hadn't thought of what she would do after she got her answer. She didn't know this region, she didn't know where was safe and where wasn't. For all she knew, her corpse might be found at the bottom of that cave in a week.

"Well, you're free to stay here or leave. I know this region is new to you, it might be dangerous for you to go out on your own. But at the same time, I feel like you're capable of handling yourself. I've felt first hand just how strong you are." He pointed to his head and let out a slight chuckle. "Like I said, I won't force you to do anything. It's your life, you have the right to make your own choices."

Grace looked up, startled by the sudden offer. He would let her stay? In his house? After all she did to him. Yet at the same time, she felt how he had put that aside. His words were full of warmth and kindness. They felt genuine and comforting. She was going back and forth on the thought for a while now, but this sealed it. He was definitely someone she could trust, even if only just a little bit. The thought of that made her eyes start to water. She hadn't had someone she knew she could trust for the longest time, and now she did. It was and incredible feeling.

Nathan saw that she was about to cry. He didn't mean to make her upset. He was just giving her the choice. "Woah whoa whoa, why are you crying? Did I say something stupid? Fuck was it about how I said you hurt me? I'm sorry-"he was cut off by Grace starting to giggle.

She started laughing harder and harder until it was a full blown belly laugh. Nathan was beyond confused at this point. He was about to ask why she was laughing when she began to speak.

"I really don't get you man. I have known you for maybe a day at best and you're offering a place to live. I mean who does that." She continued to laugh, harder than she ever had before.

Nathan was getting annoyed, not taking to the teasing. "Well I could just throw you out onto the streets you know."

"Yeah but you wouldn't do that, you just said so. Also, you didn't let me finish." Grace couldn't believe what she was about to say. Never in a million years did she think she would say this to a human. "It's very sweet of you to offer me that, and I might be crazy, but I think I am going to take you up on that offer. It doesn't matter how strong I am. I don't know this land. I would be dead in a week. I would be an idiot not to take you up on your offer."

Nathan tried to hide his grin. He was secretly hoping she would stay. The only person he really stayed in contact with was Joy and as much as he valued her friendship, he was rather lonely.

"But," Grace added, "That doesn't automatically make us friends. Trust me when I say, I am thankful for your offer. But I am still not sure if I can fully trust you. It would take some time and I don't know how long I'll be staying. I think you are very kind but it takes more than kindness to make me like a person. If anything, I really hate just about anyone around me, even most Pokémon. So don't be surprised if I don't act super chummy to you."

"I didn't expect you to if I'm honest. Either way, if you're staying then I'll show you around the house. When I'm able I can start showing you around town if you'd like. I'm sure you don't really want to be cooped up in here all the damn time." Grace nodded, standing up to follow him around the house.

He showed her everything she would need. There was a spare bedroom down the hall from his. In between the two rooms was the bathroom. It was small, housing a cramped looking shower, porcelain toilet and a sink.

They went back downstairs to the kitchen. He showed her where he kept the plates, pans a d everything else she would need. He even gave her a shelf near the top of the pantry incase ahe wanted to get her own stuff. Behind it was the living room. When grace pointed to the big black screen hanging on the wall, Nathan told her it was called a TV. He explained what it was for and how to make it work. By the time they finished, Grace was drained. It was all a lot to take in. For years she had despised humans and their treatment of her kind. But now she was going to be living with one. The two returned to the spare bedroom, Grace walking over and sitting on the bed. It was soft but at the same time had a solid firmness to it, conforming to her shape and caressing her body. She then remembered something important.

"Oh, if you ever try to put me in one of those balls, I will not hesitate to snap your neck right then and there."

Nathan held up his hands in defense, a little scared of the threat she added at the end.

"I told you, I'm not a trainer. I only have one pokeball but it's locked away. It was something that I received…" Nathan paused, memories of his mother returning to him. "As a gift. From someone important to me. I don't plan to use it, ever."

Grace nodded, taking him at his word. He hadn't lied to her so far. So she would at least give him the benefit of the doubt.

Nathan turned and headed towards the door.

"Hey, Nathan," Grace mumbled.

Nathan stopped. It was the first time she had used his name, rather than calling him human or you.

He turned to her, matching her gaze one to one.

"Thank you for allowing me to stay here. Just like the cave you didn't have to do that. So thanks."

Nathan gave her a small smile, flashing her a thumbs up as he walked out the room and closed the door.

 **December 16th, 7:37pm age 2207, Castelia city, alleyway.**

The alley was swallowed in by the night. It was dark, almost impossible to see where you were going. Every 25 feet or so was lit by a weak light, the bulb on the verge of dying out. The cold winter air rushed down the pathway, brushing over the two figures standing in the middle of the alley. They were talking with someone.

"So lady, you tell us what we want to know, we may spare both your lives. Sound good? Good. Let's get started."The man held the dagger to her throat, lightly poking her skin with the tip of the blade. It was ice cold to the touch, her skin forming goosebumps underneath it.

"Yes I'll tell you anything please just let my son go. He's just a boy, please I'm begging you." The woman wimpered, tears streaming down her face.

The second man had her son hostage, covering his mouth with one hand, holding a dagger, not unlike what her captor had, to his throat. His eyes were red as a tomato, his tears pouring down his face, fear wracking his body.

A wicked smile appeared on the man's face. His eyes narrowed, glaring daggers at the woman. "Good, good. Now rumor has it you two caught a glimpse of an incredibly rare Pokémon. One that isn't native to our fair nation. Now tell me, where did you see it and where did it go?"

She hesitated for a moment. She couldn't tell him that her son was actually the one that saw it.

"I-I was near the main sewer entrance. I only saw it f-for a few seconds. It may have gone inside." She stammered.

"Good girl. What did it look like?" He sounded a little annoyed, bothered by not hearing the answer he wanted.

"I d-didn't get a good look but it had green hair and white skin f-f-from what I could tell. Now please let us go." The woman began sobbing, terrified for her life and her sons.

"Alright lass, you can go." The man smiled, "Careful out there. You might run into a bad crowd."

He let go of the woman and removed the knife from her neck. She grabbed her son and began sprinting down the alley.

"Oh and one more thing lass." The man said as he reached into his trench coat.

* * *

"Well that was less helpful than I had hoped." The first man said to his partner.

"Well we learned a few things. Lord Ghetsis will be pleased with-" The man was cut off by a punch to the back off the head.

"Call him Lord Dia you twat. You know he'll skin you alive if he hears you utter that name."

"Was it really necessary to smack me over the head?" The second man said, his hand over the fresh bruise forming on his dome.

"No. But it was fun. So I did it."

"Whatever. Lets just move on, we have shit to do and not much time before we have to report to Mordecai."

"Right right I know. We'll begin the search of the sewers tomorrow. Whatever this thing is, Lord Dia was beyond ecstatic about it. If we don't find it or its corpse withing a week or so lets move on to Nimbasa then to Driftveil. We find it, we take it. It fights back, we kill it. Simple as that. Got it bucko?"

The second man nodded and the two began to make their way out of the alley, avoiding the fresh pool of blood steaming at their feet.


	4. Chapter 4

**Finally back to post another one of these. Y'all have been killing it on the support and it has been really motivating me to write more. I really am grateful for the reviews, follows and favs so please keep it up. Makes me want to write more for you guys. Now, on to answering reviews like I said I would last chapter.**

 **GojiraxShinyGardevoir and TheDeltaPlayer: Thanks so much for your patience with me. Life can be kind of a bitch so I'm grateful**

 **Xerozzuro: Haha yeah I'm trying to keep to a schedule but its a little hard considering how life is kind of a cool mistress. I'm glad you are enjoying their development and that you enjoy my style of writing! Like I told you in the pm I will be cutting way back on the gore. Very rarely will there be a scene that is that gruesome anymore. Hope you continue to enjoy!**

 **MY Unleashed ImaginatioN: Thanks so much man! I'm really glad you enjoy the story so far and hope you continue to enjoy it!**

 **Anyway, I hope this doesn't dissapoint you guys too much but I am gonna change my schedule up a bit. I am going to try and release and chapter Every weekend rather than every Friday. This could be Friday, Saturday or Sunday U.S time so please bear with me while I try to figure this all out. I have to be prioritizing my classwork over my writing as much as I wish It could be the other way around, as evidenced by this chapter being a bit shorter than normal. Never the less I will do my best to uploading at least one chapter every weekend. Maybe two If I have the time.**

 **Without further ado...**

 **[Insert joke about not owning Pokemon here]**

 **December 23rd, 11:15 age 2207, Nathan's House**

The smell of sautéed vegetables filled the air. Onions and peppers blending together to form a sharp yet sweet aroma. Nathan moved the vegetables around in the pan, pushing them aside to begin to sauté the chicken. His mouth watered at the smell of his first meal that day. While normally Nathan is a bit of an early bird, for the last few days he found himself waking up later and later. He made the assumption that his exhaustion stemmed from not sleeping for the first two days of his concussion. When he was finally allowed to sleep, he didn't wake up for another day.

Grace on the other hand was a late sleeper, still not up out of bed. He discovered that she slept until noon most days, getting up and demanding food the minute she got downstairs. He could tell that she was getting tired of being cooped up in the house and he wasn't sure how much longer she would remain patient.

Nathan plated his lunch and sat down to eat. While he ate, he thought of where he could take her and what to show her around town. He decided against going to the town's gym or the World Tournament. From what he could tell, Grace disliked battles as much as he did, so it would probably not be smart to take her to places that are all about battling. He could take her to the shopping district and to the center. He wanted to see Joy again anyway so stopping by couldn't hurt. He decided to go there first. He also wanted to take her to the fountain near the drawbridge. Besides his spot in the cave, it was his favorite place to go and think or gather his emotions.

He had yet to go to the building on the hill up on the north side of town. He didn't see many people go in or out of it, but did occasionally see an older man in a large brown coat.

"Maybe we could go there together," Nathan said out loud.

He mulled over the thought. Grace told the truth about not being super "chummy" as she had said. The two rarely spoke outside of the occasional good night or questions on dinner. She spent most of her time in her room, but every so often Nathan would find her on the couch watching T.V. She put up a wall around herself, only peeking through its small window for brief moments before closing herself off again. Nathan wanted to start chipping away at the wall. To see if maybe there was some way he could make her see that he wanted to be her friend. Maybe sharing the experience of learning about something unknown together would help him make the first swing at her imaginary wall.

A hopeful smile wormed its way on to his face, his cheeks gaining the slightest tinge of pink. He may hate the thought of being a trainer, but that didn't mean he wanted nothing to do with Pokémon. He found joy in helping the creatures. Caring to their needs when they can't do so themselves. Not to mention his only real friend was Joy so gaining a friend no matter what they were sounded rather appealing to the young man.

Nathan finished his lunch and went to wash it when he heard Grace descending the stairs. She go to the bottom and turned to Nathan, her expression remaining stoic and tired. She wiped the sleep from her eyes, still groggy from her nightmares the night before.

"Morning Grace, you hungry?" Nathan asked.

The Pokémon gave him a tired nod and moved to sit on the couch.

"Alright, I can make you some eggs and toast if that's alright with you."

Grace flashed him a three-fingered thumbs up and sat down, turning on the T.V.

"Good morning Unova, coming to you live from Castelia city, here's the news. Our top story, the person/people responsible for the murders of local residents Jessica Thatcher and her son Thomas have still yet to be identified. Police are saying the perpetrator made use of a 9mm handgun and shot the two from behind. It is unknown if the murders are purely random or targeted attacks. Citizens are advised to return to their homes before 9pm and a temporary curfew has been set for 10pm until the suspect is identified and brought to justice."

Nathan grimaced at the story. For the most part, ever since the frozen plasma incident, crime had slowed to a minimum in the Unova region. Under the watch of the current champion and former gym leaders, a peaceful quiet had settled over the land. But now that the Unova league opened its doors once again, crime rates shad skyrocketed. Thieves, murderers, home invaders. They had all gotten bolder with the gym leaders attention divided. Crime was especially potent in Cities with brand new leaders and in Castelia, the central hub of the entire region.

Nathan broke his attention from the T.V, focusing on making Grace her breakfast. Once he finished, he plated the eggs and walked over to the couch to give it to her. She took it eagerly, grinning from ear to ear at the plate.

Nathan waited for her to finish before asking her whether she wanted to get out of the house for the day. He had promised her that once he started feeling batter they would go. The pain medication was actually working now and he hadn't had a numbness spasm, as he called them, since the first day he had the concussion.

Grace downed the last bite of eggs and handed the plate back to Nathan, giving him a thankful smile.

Once Nathan finished cleaning the plate, he sat down in the chair adjacent to the couch, deciding to ask her now.

"So Grace, I was wondering if you wanted to get out of the house and go around town. I did promise that once I was able I'd take you and frankly I've gotten just as bored of this place as you have."

Grace looked at Nathan for a moment, trying to hide her excitement. She had been wanting to get out of this house for days. Her excitement got the best of her and she gave the boy a big grin and nodded her head like mad. Her face lit up, a mix of joy and excitement pouring out of her.

Nathan suppressed a laugh and continued to admire how excited she was. For whatever reason, he could actually feel her excitement. He had searched for any information he could about her species online the day before. Her species was known as the embrace Pokémon, and that things they are close with could feel their emotions. He also read that most Gardevoir would protect their trainers with their own lives.

Grace was practically bouncing with anticipation. He thought she would jump through the ceiling if she were able.

"Alright, we'll leave in ten minutes. I'll see if I can find you anything warm to wear, it's supposed to be pretty cold out today."

"Alright, I'll wait for you here. Just hurry up, I want to get going ASAP." Grace said, absolutely giddy.

Nathan got up and climbed the stairs, swinging the door to his room open and walking over to the closet. He opened its doors and rifled through all of them, trying to see if he had anything that would fit her slender figure. After searching for a minute or so, he found something that may work. It was a small green hoodie, something he had gotten when he was younger. He grabbed it from the cabinet and turned to leave when he saw a small box topple to the floor from atop the shelf. It must have been sitting on top of the hanger, knocked over when he grabbed the hoodie from its hold.

Nathan grabbed it and instantly knew what it was. He had received the box and what was inside as a gift from his mother on his thirteenth birthday. He walked over to his bed, box still in hand, saddened by the memory of that day. He stared at the box, fighting back the tears welling up in his eyes. He wiped his face and opened the box, grabbing the item from inside. It was a premier ball. A snow white ball wrapped at the center by a red band. The ball meant to be used to catch his first Pokémon and become a trainer. He was going to head to the garden in the center Castelia city after beginning his journey and catch an eevee. They had only started appearing in Unova the year before and he had seen one running through the streets of Castelia when his family vacationed there. He decided it would be his first Pokémon. But, on his thirteenth birthday, the Unova region became a living hell.

He was broken from his thoughts by a knock at the door. Grace was waiting there, eyeing him. He looked at her and then the ball, remembering her stance on Poke balls. Quickly, Nathan grabbed the balls box and put it back inside. He closed it and returned the box to its place on the shelf.

"Sorry," Nathan started, "The box dropped from the shelf when I grabbed you this." He tossed the green hoodie her way. It sailed through the air for a brief moment before she caught it with her mind. She pulled it over her head and put her arms through the sleeves, its warmth immediately encasing her. The dull, dark green piece of clothing matched her hair almost completely, the two seeming to mold into one at her shoulders. She frowned at the small bulge on her chest, right where her heart piece was.  
Nathan saw said frown and quickly grabbed a pair of scissors. He walked over to grace and slowly reached out, Grace recoiling in response. She eyed him, a distasteful glare accompanying her frown.

"Relax, I am just giving your chest thing some room to breathe. Can you just trust me for thirty seconds? Please?"

The Pokémon continued to watch him, eventually letting her guard down. He had not given her a reason not to trust him, quite the opposite really.

"Alright, just be careful. It's… really sensitive." Grace's cheeks flushed a light red.

Nathan grinned and swiftly cut a small hole where the chest piece bulged against the material, being careful to avoid touching the piece himself. After he finished, the gem poked through the hole and the hoodie flattened against her figure, adhering to her exact shape. He did the same with the back and stood back to admire his work. The hoodie now fit her perfectly, encompassing her slender form and wrapping her in warmth.

' _Damn she's really cute.'_ Nathan thought. He shook his head, embarrassed by his own thoughts.

"Well, I suppose now you can keep that. It's too small for me and I don't really have much use for it with those two holes there." Nathan chuckled. "I hope you like it."

"Eh, it's alright. Though I suppose it's better than most hand-me-downs." Grace gave a cheeky smile, hoping she got on his nerves. In actuality, she loved the hoodie. She thought he was sweet for giving it to her and even cutting holes in it so she wouldn't look so dumb in it. But he didn't have to know that.

Nathan rolled his eyes and scoffed at her. He could feel she was happy. He was glad she liked the hoodie. He had it for years but never really wore it because he hadn't liked the color. But she didn't have to know that.

"Whatever then. Let's go, I have a load of places you should see."

 **December 23rd, 12:05 pm Age 2207, Driftveil Streets**

Grace shuffled behind Nathan, taking in the views of the town. Last time she came through here, it was pitch dark and she couldn't see a thing. Now she saw a sprawling landscape of concrete and brick. Homes similar to Nathan's lined the streets, only minor things to make them differ. Ornate, black lamp-posts stood on the sidewalks, looking rather grand and complimenting the modern style of the homes. It was a bit intimidating for her at first. Sure cities in Hoenn were large but that weren't quite as densely packed. It was pretty but at the same time it made her a bit nervous.

She sped up ever so slightly to get closer to the young man escorting her. People were giving her strange looks, as if they were seeing and alien. It didn't surprise her. Nathan had told her that she was incredibly rare around here. It didn't make it any less concerning knowing that though.

"Hey Nathan-"

"We're here!" Nathan yelled. Grace, a bit annoyed that he ignored her, looked to see what he was yelling about. They stood in front of that red roofed building Nathan had gone in when she was stalking him. Yet another thing he didn't need to know about.

"This is the Pokémon center. This is where you should go if you're hurt, need something quick to eat or drink, or just want to chill. Come on, let's go in Grace. It's cold as shit out here." Nathan exclaimed, ushering her through the door.

She took in her surroundings. To the right was an area with a blue counter. Two men stood behind the counter, with racks of items directly behind them. To her left was a table with four orange chairs surrounding it? A boy and a girl that looked to be around Nathans age sat there, enjoying a conversation. It all led up to a much larger counter with a machine behind it. There were six spherical slots in the machine and a whole hell of a lot of buttons.

"Hey Joy how's it-"

"GOD DAMNIT NATHAN I TOLD YOU TO STAY AT HOME! ARE YOU FUCKIN' BRAIN DEAD OR ARE YOU JUST STUPID?!" The woman behind the counter screamed. Grace recognized her as the one that came over to Nathan's home the other day.

"Joy, head, ears! Please stop yelling!" Nathan pleaded, holding his head in visible pain.

The woman clamped a hand over her mouth. Her embarrassment welled up and her cheeks turned a bright red.

"I just came by to say hello." Nathan groaned, still gripping his head. "And to say thanks for helping me out here."

Joy moved her hand from her mouth, though her cheeks flushed even more. She scratched the back of her head.

"Oh, ah, uh sorry… about… that Nathan. Hi and… uh… no problem man."

Grace nearly doubled over laughing. She could feel the woman's frustration and embarrassment. It poured off her like a god damn waterfall.

Joy narrowed her eyes and looked at the Pokémon. "Oh, she is still here. So, did you decide to be a trainer after all? Or is she just free loading off you."

Nathan snickered. "No, I am not a trainer. Yes, she is a free loader." He turned and giggled at Grace, who in turn punched his shoulder.

Grace glared at him, a little angry at his snide comment. "You're the one who offered me a place to live, jackass. Or did you get long term memory loss when I clocked your head there."

Nathan chuckled again, amused by her sarcastic side.

"No. But I dead end up getting a pain in my ass."

Grace stuck her tongue out at him, closing her eyes and turning her head away after.

"Well, you two get along swimmingly." Joy scoffed.

"Oh yeah, like you wouldn't believe." Nathan let out a long laugh.

Joy looked at the boy. There was something different about him. He seemed… genuinely happy. Like she hadn't seen in months. Even after all the trouble she caused him, the Pokémon was making him happy. She looked over the two for another moment, her smile fading as a realization hit her.

"Hey Nathan, can I talk to you? Alone?" She asked.

"Uh… Yeah sure. Hey Grace, why don't you look around the place, get a feel for it."

Grace shrugged and walked off, heading towards the stairs that led to the GTS.

Once he thought she was out of earshot, Nathan asked, "So what's up? Why couldn't Grace be here for this?"

"Well, I don't want to upset her with what I need to say. First off, I have to ask, is she still… wild?"

"I already told you I'm not her trainer. I don't know whether or not she is wild but my guess would be yes."

Joy looked to Grace. At the top step she was looking around the second floor, taking it in. When Joy looked back to Nathan, she said, "Well, you do realize that anyone who wants to catch her has every right to do so. You did think about that right?"

Nathan's smile faded. He hadn't thought about that. Grace was still wild. She was also incredibly rare in Unova, making her that much more of a target for thieves or collectors or just other trainers. There was no guarantee another trainer wouldn't want to try and catch her. If they did, he couldn't stop them.

Nathan just shook his head, not knowing what to say after such a bomb was dropped.

Joy groaned and face-palmed. "Damnit Nathan, why did I believe you would think ahead of time. Why haven't you caught her yet? She'd be safe then!"

"You damn well know why I haven't caught her. Joy, you know who I am. Besides, she doesn't want to be caught. It wouldn't be right for me to do something like that when she clearly doesn't want it."

"Yeah, I know you wouldn't. But push comes to shove, you may have to do it. I can tell that having her around makes you pretty fuckin' happy Nathan. I'd rather not see you get all down again."

"Well, let's hope it never comes to that." Nathan said.

Nathan lowered his eyes, an overwhelming amount of fear and worry planting themselves on his back. He tried to brush it aside but he couldn't shake the feeling. He looked for Grace, who was now coming back down the stairs.

"How was the second floor Grace?" Nathan asked, a fake smile plastered to his face.

"Eh, kind of boring. We about ready to head to the next place?"

"Yup, let's go." Nathan said. "It was good to see you Joy, can't wait to start work again."

"Focus on getting better first genius." She gave Nathan her trademark smirk and a wave as the pair head out the door.

 **December 23rd, 2:20 pm age 2207, Driftveil Shopping District**

Grace walked just behind Nathan as they came up on the shopping district. Though it was the prettiest part of the town, Grace was too distracted by what she heard earlier to notice.

' _You do realize that anyone who wants to catch her has every right to do so.'_

The thought played over and over again in her head. While she was heading up the stairs at the center, she felt Nathan's emotions take a 180 degree turn. One moment he was happy as a cloyster. The next she felt an unbearable amount of fear and concern. He was afraid someone would catch her since he hadn't. Concerned about how he would be able to handle her being caught.

It was touching and sweet. He had her interests at mind all the time and she found comfort in that. Though now, the thought of forcibly being taken from her new home clouded her thoughts. She snapped out of it from a tap to her shoulder.

"Earth to Grace. Come in Grace. You alright? You have been spacy ever since we left the center." Nathan breathed.

It's true, she didn't really pay attention to the fountain or the walk down to the shopping district. She had been focused on what she overheard.

' _I should be asking you that dude. You were shaking back there.'_ She thought. She sighed and thought of a way to lie. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired I guess."

"You were asleep until about 3 hours ago."

"Your point?"

Nathan stifled a laugh. "Whatever, let's look around at the shops. See if there are any you like."

Grace nodded and started to follow the boy again. Though she doubted she would be able to focus on anything.

Grace was glad she was wrong every once in a while. They walked through the shopping district, staring into the shops for almost three hours. Grace had been swept off her feet by the sheer number of shops. She had taken a special liking to three of them in particular. A clothing store right in the center of the district. A candle boutique at the edge. And a store that sold what Nathan called video games. She played a demo of one for an hour, struggling to grip the controller with her three fingers. Even though she struggled, she had an enormous amount of fun. But Nathan had to make her leave when the line got so long it reached out the door. She would definitely be coming back.

"So Nathan, is there any way I could make some money so I could get my own shit?"

"Well I'm not sure. I've never heard of a Pokémon applying for a job before. Though I could probably see about getting you a job at the center with me. I'm sure Joy wouldn't mind, she runs the place. What you want to get yourself some video games?" Nathan said sarcastically.

"Not just that, asshole!" She yelled. "I want to get some candles and some of my own clothes too! I can't only use your hoodie!" She huffed and crossed her arms, glaring at the boy.

Nathan laughed hysterically, wrapping his arms around his stomach. He had never heard of a Pokémon wanting such human things. Though he had never met a Pokémon quite like the psychic girl behind him.

"Relax, I'm messing with you. I'll see what I can do with Joy. Besides, it'd be nice for you to have your own money."

Grace opened one eye to look at him. He flashed her a small smile before turning to look ahead of him again. She smiled slightly as well. He was beginning to look more and more like a friend to her. As of right now, she was glad she decided to stay with this guy.

"Though I wouldn't mind getting you a few things if you want." Nathan whispered.

"What was that?"

Nathan realized he said that out loud.

"Nothing!"

 **December 23rd, 11:30 pm age 2207, Nathan's House**

Nathan lay in his bed, clutching his mother's gift with his right hand. The ball was lighter than he expected, and it fit his hand perfectly. Its soft white color accented by the sharp red of the band that wrapped the ball was surprisingly soothing. It reminded him of his mother's soft smiles and the warmth of her hugs. Nathan gripped the ball a bit tighter, finally allowing the tears to trail down his face.

"Why did you have to die? Why did those plasma bastards have to take you away from dad and me? I was just a kid, you shouldn't lose your mom as a kid." Nathan continued to cry, lamenting the death of his mother. Ever since that day he vowed to never forgive those plasma creeps, and if he ever saw one of them again, he'd make them pay. Make them wish they never donned that uniform. And he will. He will make any team plasma member he sees suffer.

Nathan's cries tapered out as he felt sleep begin to take him. His eyes felt heavy and he could feel his consciousness begin to slip.

He fell asleep, ball still in hand. He had never noticed Grace standing outside looking in. She had felt how sad he was from her room. She felt an unbelievable amount of pain, and sorrow… and hatred. Now she knew why.

Grace opened the door as quietly as she could. She walked over to the boy's bed and sat down on the edge. Luckily he remained asleep. She felt awful for him. She felt that **t** his pain weighed on him almost every day. Though it was too faint to notice at first, now she felt every ounce of it.

She placed one of her three fingered hands on his forehead, allowing calm emotions to flow. Even if she hadn't known him for long, she hated seeing the boy like this.

When she was done, she felt woozy and dizzy. Exhaustion began to take her as well. She got up, ambling back to her room. Flopping face first onto her bed, Grace breathed out a sigh. She had no clue that he had something so painful hidden. She understood why he hadn't told her about it. And now she felt awful for eavesdropping on him. It wasn't something she was supposed to know.

Grace lost her train of thought. Her exhaustion was overpowering her, dragging her into sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Don't you just love technology. Corrupts the file moments after finishing it and can't even recover it. Man what a good time.**

 **Anyway I'm sure non of you care about that and are just about ready to castrate me for being so late on this chapter. Sorry 'bout that but sometimes technology likes to be a dick. That's just how it works.**

 **Anyway this chapter is once again a shorter one, partially because of the corruption and losing HOURS of work. And partially Because I have a question for you guys. Feel free to answer with a review or just pm me.**

 **So here is my question. For the next chapter, would you rather I make it long and push its release back to next Wednesday as a way to make up for the last two chapters being rather short? (10k+)**

 **Or, would you rather I get another chapter out this weekend but it would either be a short chapter or it would be normal length? (5k-6k)**

 **Please please please leave a review or pm me answering this question that's the only way I'll get to know what you guys want. Thank you SSSSSOOOOOOO much for all the favs follows and views. Seriously 1500 views in a month y'all are killing it.**

 **I don't own The Pokemans. Enjoy teh chap**

 **December 29th, 7:30 am age 2207, Nathan's House**

"In other news, it seems like there is no sign of this snow stopping anytime soon. We go to our chief meteorologist, Cathy Williams, for a live look at what to expect for this storm. Cathy?"  
"Thanks Tom…"

Nathan grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. After a few moments he stood, eyeballing the winter wonderland outside his home.

It was a total whiteout. Visibility was reduced to about three feet, anything after hidden behind a veil of falling snow. The storm hit the region out of nowhere. It had started as a simple dusting, but evolved into this behemoth of a storm. The storm had been raging on for the last two days, with no clear sign of stopping.

Nathan, however, enjoyed the snow. He loved the winter time, the beauty of the first snowfall always managed to mesmerize him. As long as it remained snow that is. Though he wished his door was currently barricaded by several feet of the stuff.

Nathan chuckled, remembering how Grace reacted to the snow.

Two days prior

[Grace gasped as she watched the first few flakes trickle down from the sky. She immediately dashed outside, leaving a rather stunned Nathan sitting alone at the table.

He got up and looked outside, a little surprised at what he saw. Grace was looking upward, gazing at the sky in wonderment as the snow started to fall a little harder.

"I thought I would never get to see this stuff again." Grace said, clasping her hands together and lowering her gaze to Nathan.

"What, you mean snow?" He questioned.

"Yeah, Hoenn is a tropical land. It's normally too warm, even in the winter. I have only seen it once before, as a Ralts. It was… one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen." She couldn't contain her joy anymore. A huge smile appeared on her face. A genuine smile. Nathan felt he cheeks warm a little and returned the smile. She looked like a kid on Christmas. It was… really cute.]

Nathan was brought back to reality by the sound of Grace coming down the stairs. She rounded the corner, yawning all the way.

"Morning. How'd you sleep?" Nathan asked.

"Not great. The jackass next door had music blaring until one in the morning. Couldn't get a wink until around two."

"Really? I didn't hear a thing..."

"That's because you sleep like the gad damn dead man. Seriously how could you sleep through that shit?"  
Nathan shrugged, "Always been a pretty heavy sleeper. Don't know what to tell you."

Grace grumbled something as she poured herself a cup of coffee, stifling another yawn.

"How 'bout this. When the snow clears up, I'll go talk to them. See if they can keep that shit down a bit."  
Grace lightly punched his shoulder, flashing him a small grin and saying, "Thanks. I'd like that."

Nathan grinned back. The two had started getting a bit closer in the past week. They talked a hell of a lot more and enjoyed each other's company. He was glad. Grace started to feel more and more like a friend and someone her could trust. It was almost hard to believe that she was actually technically a wild Pokémon.

Suddenly, Nathan felt a pang of guilt. He still hadn't told her about the conversation he had with Joy at the center the other day. About how he couldn't stop a trainer from trying to catch her if they found out she were wild. To be honest, he wasn't really sure how to tell her. How to make it sound like he wasn't just trying to puss out on keeping her from being caught. She was still classified as a wild Pokémon, so by every sense of the word, she was fair game.

Worse yet, he felt even more guilty that he couldn't protect her. He promised not to catch her himself. She wanted to be a free being, not bound to someone through a small metal ball.

Grace seemed to have noticed how he was feeling, as she set down her coffee and looked at him. Concern flooded her crimson eyes.

"Everything okay dude? You seem a little on edge."  
Nathan returned the gaze, staring into her blazing red eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine" He lied.

Grace crossed her arms over her chest, clearly not buying it.

"You sure? You don't look fine?"

Nathan hesitated, conflicted on whether to spill the beans or continue keeping it to himself.

"Yeah, I… I just…" Nathan froze. He didn't want to piss her off or freak her out. But she knew that the two had to have this conversation eventually. Grace continued to look at him quizzically. He decided to hold off on telling her yet. He needed some time to make a plan about how to deal with this.

"I NEED TO THINK!" He yelled, running up the stairs before she could respond.

He ran into his room and slammed the door shut, locking it just in case. He sat on his bed and grabbed his head.

 _'Just how in the hell am I supposed to tell her I can't keep her safe?'_

Grace didn't try to stop him as he fled up the stairs. She already knew what he was so upset about. To be honest, shew thought it was sweet how he was so worried about her safety. A bright smile formed across her face and a little color rose to her cheeks.

The subject at hand had been on her mind for the days that followed their walk around town. She began to shake. The idea of being forced back into one of those… things again disgusted her. Being forced to fight for and travel with someone she didn't even know.

She knew that they would have to have the conversation. They had to figure out what to do if the situation ever arose where her freedom was on the line. Though she hadn't the slightest idea of what that plan was.

She rest her chin on the palm of her hands, pondering how she would even initiate the conversation in the first place. It wasn't going to be an easy one to have. Would he even choose to protect her? Or would he just cast her aside if the situation would allow?

She shook her head. She trusts Nathan. She trusts him almost completely. Grace knew that Nathan wouldn't toss her aside like common trash. She could feel it. She didn't even need to ask herself that. She could feel that he cared about her. Nathan is her friend, there's no way he wouldn't protect her.

' _Still…'_ Grace thought, _'We do need to talk about a plan of action. I'll give him a few hours, see if I can come up with something on my own.'_

Grace looked up the stairs. Even though she felt a ton of negative emotion oozing from his room, she felt how worried Nathan was. And she couldn't help smiling. She was confident they would figure something out.

' _WHAT IN THE ALL MIGHTY FUCK AM I GONNA DO'_ Nathan screamed internally. He had broken out in a cold sweat. He was curled up in a ball on his bed, a little panicked over how he would handle the situation.

Okay, maybe more than a little panicked. The worst possible outcomes were the only ones that came to mind. Grace leaving and never coming back. Grace being captured and taken away. He being injured beyond hope fighting a trainer trying to catch her. What was he to do!

Nathan got up and walked into the bathroom. He turned on the sink and splashed his face a bit, trying to calm down.

 _'Focus man,'_ he told himself, ' _you gotta calm down and focus.'_

Nathan took in a large breath and exhaled, allowing his panicked mind to soothe and calm. Normally in this kind of situation he would go to his spot in the cave or to the fountain at the edge of down. But neither of those were an option with the blizzard raging outside.

' _Plan B then.'_ Nathan thought. He picked up his phone, and dialed Joy's number. It rang a few times before an annoyed sounding girl picked up.

"T-t-this b-better be real f-f-fucking good Nathan."

"It is. Also are you just standing in the middle of the storm or something? That can't be good for your health." He said playfully, hoping to annoy her even further.

"I WILL MURDER YOU!" She screamed.  
"Woah, hostile. Okay in all seriousness, why do you sound like you are in the middle of the arctic?"  
"P-P-Power failed. Disabled h-heaters. Really c-c-cold at the c-center."

"Sorry to hear that Joy." He thought again about. "I know it's probably not the best time, but I really need your help."

"L-Lemme guess. Grace?" She huffed.

Nathans voice returned to its normal, cold tone. "To a degree. I'm trying to think of how to tell her about our conversation last week. I don't know how she is going to take it and react. I'm a little scared to be honest and I need your help to figure out how I need to tell her this shit so she doesn't lose it. And also what I can do to… protect her."

"J-Jesus you have fallen h-h-head over heals for her." Nathan could hear her snicker. His face flushed and he got a little angry. Though he remained calm in his retort.

"First off, no. Second, you sound jealous. Third, stop it."

Joy giggled, "Relax man, I'm just teasing."

"Whatever Joy. Also, you sound like you're warming up."

"Backup generator kicked in. We should be good in a few. So, why exactly did you want my opinion on the matter dude? I'm not a Pokémon, so what good am I?"

"You have been able to help me out with her before. Plus you always no how to get my ass out of a sling. It's sort of your thing you know." Nathan teased.

Joy sighed into the phone. She was silent for a few moments, rolling the question over in her head. Finally she spoke.

"Look, here's the best I want to come up with. From what it sounds like, you really value what you have with this Gardevoir. And from what I've seen, you two seem like good friends. SO here is my opinion. It may be hard, but if you want the best chance at keeping her in your life, be honest with her."

Nathan was confused. "What do you mean be honest? How could I lie in this situation."  
"That's not what I meant idiot. I meant, don't beat around the bush on this. Tell her straight up that this is a very real issue for you, and tell her you don't know a way you can protect her as of right now. But that you are doing your best to figure out a way. It may not be what she wants to hear but I think that being honest and just laying it all out on the table is your best bet. She trusts you right?"

"I mean, I think so. I don't really know. She has told me before that she trusts me a little but not that she out right trusts me."

"Think of this as a way to test that trust. If she trusts you, then she will know that you really are worried about her and that you are doing your best to figure out a way around this without having to catch her yourself."

"Alright. I knew I was smart to call you Joy. You really don't know how much I value as my best friend. Really, thank you so much for what you've done for me." Nathan said, almost tearing up.  
"Dude, you've sort of become like a little brother to me, so believe me, you mean a lot to me too man. I know you can do this. I know she means a lot to you." Joy, responded warmly.

"I'm going to try to come back to work on the 9th if that's alright with you. Thanks again for your help Joy. I'll talk to you soon."

"See you Nathan." She hung up, a little quickly.

Joy hung up quickly, before her voice would start to break. Her smile quickly became flat and then curved into a frown. Tears started to well up in her eyes. She couldn't the tightness in her chest. As much as she wanted for Nathan to be happy, she couldn't shake the feeling of quickly becoming forgotten. Was she really losing to a fucking Pokémon?

Nathan put his phone down. It's best not to put this off. As he began to walk to the door though, a sudden dizziness befell him. His legs shook, and he felt like he was falling at tremendous speed. His legs buckled beneath him, giving way to his weight.

He managed to catch himself before hitting head on anything. It took him a few seconds to realize he forgot to breath. Nathan took in several shallow, ragged breaths and he clasped his head. Though the dizzy spell had faded, it was replaced by a vicious headache.

The boy sat where he was, waiting for the headache to recede. When it finally did, he looked at his hands, taking notice of how much they were shaking. He was scared. Whatever just happened started with the same feeling that he experienced the first time he lost control over a part of his body. Dizziness, numbing of a limb, that limb ceasing to function for a few seconds. Only this time its intensity was… exponentially higher. He had to go see a doctor about this. Whatever was happening started to freak him out and he just wanted to be rid of these spells.

Nathan grabbed the edge of his desk, pulling the rest of his weight up on wobbly arms. He wouldn't let this deter him from speaking with Grace. When he finally got up, something white on his desk drew his attention. The premier ball was left exposed and out on the desk. He grabbed it, and almost immediately felt much calmer. It was almost like his mother was with him. He felt warm, confident and prepared for what he was about to do.

Grace heard creaking from the stairs. She turned towards them and saw Nathan step towards the bottom. He looked rather odd. Face devoid of color and he looked like he was holding an enormous weight on his shoulders. The boy looked like death warmed over. The only things that looked remotely alive were his deep violet eyes.

He looked around, half-smiling when he saw her. She could see right through the façade. She could tell he was dreading what they had to talk about. She felt the same way. Grace had grown accustomed to him and thought of him as a genuine friend now. She didn't want to do anything to compromise it.

Grace motioned him over to the table and he sat down. He remained silent. They would get nowhere fast if neither of them spoke. Luckily Nathan broke the silence.

"Soooo… I need to talk to you about something. It's not exactly easy to talk about either." He said, fighting through the tension.

Grace wasn't sure whether she should tell him that she knew. She didn't know how he would take the fact that she eavesdropped on him.

"Alright. Shoot." She said, deciding to keep it to herself.

Nathan let out a long sigh, closing his eyes and breathing. Finally he spoke.

"When we were at the center the other day, Joy brought something… rather important up to me."

"What is it?" Grace said, even though she already knew.

"So, even if you are living with me, you are still classified as wild. Meaning any trainer that wants to catch you can, and I can't really do anything about it."

Grace remained silent, allowing the information to sink in again. Even though she knew this already, it was a totally different feeling to hear it from him.

"Well then I-"Nathan held up his hand, stopping her.

"I wasn't finished." Nathan said, a pained look contorting his facial features. "I'm going to be honest Grace. I don't know if there is anything I CAN do about it. I can't really fight against what the laws of the league allow trainers to do. I don't technically have the right to stop a trainer from catching a wild Pokémon. Sure, I could lie and say I am your trainer, but what if they ask for a battle? I can't really do anything about that and a lie won't float for very long. I could go to prison if I fought anybody. You're not a Pokémon registered to my name, and considering how rare your species is to this region, the odds of a trainer wanting to catch you explode." He breathed out, tears starting to form in the corners of his eyes.

Grace was shocked. Stunned. Frozen in place. She wasn't expecting to hear this at all. She was expecting him to say that he would do whatever it takes to protect her like some generic ass prince charming. But from what she could feel, he told her the honest truth. She was about to say something when he again started talking.

"I don't know what to do and I've been panicked about telling you this. As weird as it sounds, I don't want to lose you Grace. You've become a good friend to me. Someone I feel like I can lean on when I need to. You're important to me. So I still want to find a way around this. I'll do what I can to figure this out. I just don't know what that way is."

 _'Did my heart just skip a beat?'_ Grace wondered. She felt a little color rise to her cheeks. He wasn't just worried about her. He was downright panicked he'd lose her, but it felt like he was still holding a few things back. It was an oddly sweet gesture. She herself didn't know what to say. She hadn't felt all these things in the longest time, her feelings taking her for a roller coaster ride. Her mind couldn't seem to stay put on one thought for the longest time. When she finally collected herself, she said, "You know Nathan. I wasn't expecting you to be so honest with me. You're right it is really hard to hear that you don't know how to keep me safe."

Nathan's face sank. He looked down, an immense amount of shame flowing from his heart.

"But," Grace began, "I do really appreciate you being honest. I'd rather hear a hard truth than a bunch of soft lies. So thanks for that."

Nathan picked his head up again and Grace watched his face light up. She giggled a little and added, "Also, I think of you as a friend too. You've shown me kindness and compassion every step of the way. It's really sweet of you man. You've become really important to me too." She hesitated for a second, before finishing with, "I don't want to leave you either."

Grace felt Nathan's heart literally skip a beat. Color began returning to his face in an extreme way. His cheeks looked like they had been smeared with cherry berries. Grace had to suppress a laugh. The flustered boy scratched the back of his head and chuckled nervously.

She thought back on the time she has spent with him. When they first met she attacked him on sight, but he brought her to his home and healed her. She hurt him and yet he allowed her to stay in his home. He showed her around town, offered her a job and has made her believe that leaving Hoenn was really the best course she has ever taken. Then, she realized something. There was a way to keep her safe. She wouldn't like it at first, but Grace trusted this boy.

"So Nathan," Grace said, "I know you don't know what to do, but I think I do."

"You do?"

"Yeah, but I need a little more time to think it over before I make the decision."

"Alright?" He looked incredibly confused.

Grace gave the boy a cute wink before walking up to her room. She closed the door behind her and slid down against it. Her heart was racing. What did she just walk herself into? Why was her heart going a mile a minute?

It took her about ten minutes to finally calm down and remember why she rushed up here in the first place.

Would she really let him put her in one of those things? Yes she trusted him more than anyone but… does she trust him with her freedom?

' _I know just how he feels about this shit as well, but it's my complete and total freedom I am giving to him.'_ Grace said to herself.

She looked around the room he gave her. Several candles now lit the room, filling it with a potluck of different smells. Nathan had gotten them for her after she stared at them for twenty minutes. He said she looked like a kid in a candy store, whatever that meant.

Grace smiled, the soft candle light framing her face, illuminating the room in a dim orange light. She thought about all the things Nathan has done for her. He bought her these candles, gave her a place to live, even saved her life. Nowadays whenever she thought of him, she got a warm feeling in her stomach. She felt safe around him and trusted him. It really was a marvelous feeling.

Grace stood once again. She wasn't sure this was the right decision to make but… it felt like the smarter and better option. Perhaps someday in the future, she'd come to regret it. Perhaps she wouldn't. All she could do right now is say 'fuck it' and hope for the best.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey there... SO uh, Not dead. Clearly... OKAY I CAN EXPLAIN!**

 **First off I want to apologize for the extended hiatus. I have my reasons but I still apologize for not updating you guys on what was going on. However I will say that this time I was away was not unproductive. Quite the opposite in fact. More on that later.**

 **For those of you who care, here is the reasoning for my absence. The month of July was... very hectic and busy for me. A lot of unexpected bumps and stuff happened and it wasn't stuff I could work around. I was finishing up a summer class, my brother got hurt so I had to take a whole hell of a lot of extra hours at work to cover for him. My dad came in for about two weeks, and since I don't see him very often, I wanted to spend time with him. I really just never had the time nor energy to really sit down and write. Now, I probably should have put up an update but recently I have been seeing a lot of bans on the site for posting too many chapters not related to the story itself so I was hesistent. Therefore, I have decided that sometime soon I am going to be making a twitter separate from my personal account for updates on stories. When I have that I will tell you guys what it is and you can go follow me if you so choose. I will post updates and other stuff there.**

 **Now onto the other things I wanted to say. Like I said above the month of July was not unproductive. While I didn't manage to write much, I was able to do A LOT of planning. I already have chapters 7-10 planned out and am ready to write them. I also managed to come up with ideas for the next few stories in this series (Yup this is gonna be a series) as well as three side stories I want your guys input on. One way or another these will all eventually be written and on my account, but I am limiting myself to two stories at a time, one being the MODL series and the other being a side story. This is to break up the monotony of writing just one story and to prevent writers block. Each side story will involve a Pokemon x OC pairing and will be part romance.**

 **Now the concepts for the three side stories are as follows.**

 **An homage to Spice and Wolf (Because I love it) With the main pairing being a male OC and a female Reshiram. I got the idea after rereading the spice and wolf LN and thought how could I bring this to the Pokemon Universe. I knew I wanted my representation of Holo to be legendary because she is a sort of mythic beast herself. Also yes I am perfectly aware of Murloc_Rampage's Fruits, spices and Gardevoir. It is a phenomenal story and one of my favorites on the site. If you haven't read it yet, go do that I seriously can't recommend it enough. Beside concept my story I will be making very different. Also, as much as I normally don't like these kinds of stories, the Reshiram will be able to take on a human form. Would be kind of hard to hide a Reshiram in your cart.**

 **Next is an homage to Konosuba, and I am going to keep this pairing a secret, just to see how many of you actually follow the LN/Anime. If you do, then you will know the main pairing once I introduce the character.**

 **The last is a normal Pokemon adventure with a male Coordinator OC x Female Ninetails. That one might be a bit weird for me to write but Ninetails is one of my favorite mons so I'd like to give it a try.**

 **I am going to make a poll for this so please give your input. Share it in the reviews, do the pole, whatever. I just want to know what you guys want to see.**

 **Quick update: I am a little embarrassed to admit I am looking for an artist for a cover image for the story. I am not much of an artist myself though I am in the process of learning to draw. If anyone is interested, please pm me and we can set something up.**

 **Now with that out of the way, I clearly don't own Pokemon, because if I did I'd be filthy fucking rich.**

 **December 29** **th** **, 1:30pm age 2207, Nathans House**

Nathan rest his head on the flat of his hand, staring blankly out the window. The storm had tapered off, only a few flurries dancing in the air. His thoughts were still locked on Grace and the rather sudden end to their conversation. She claimed to have an idea but was in need of more time. While confused about her strange actions, he didn't bother questioning them. It's not like he had any good ideas on how to handle the situation.

Nathan sighed and continued to hold his gaze out the window. Though, his focus, or lack thereof, was broken when he saw an Old man in a long brown coat struggle to walk through the snow. His long beard flung about in the wind, matching the color of the snow. He wore a very strange tall hat, a strange feeling of importance emanating from it. It was the same guy he always saw at the house on the hill. He tore his eyes away from the old man's choice in clothing when said old man slipped and fell face first into the snow. Without a moment's hesitation, Nathan grabbed his coat and threw it on as he shoved against the door, trying to force it open. When it finally budged, Nathan shot through the opening and began to wade through the snow. It was thick and the cold began soaking through his clothes, seeping through the thin layers of fabric.

"Hey are you alright? Need some help?" Nathan called as he got closer to the old man. He heard some muffled yells in response, a little snow flying as the man flailed about. Nathan reached the old man and grabbed his wrist. He pulled in an attempt to get the man back on his feet, though it ended in failure. He pulled one more time, this time harder, and managed to pull the man back up. Even in his massive coat, he was shaking like a leaf, his face completely red and soaking wet.

"T-T-T-Thank you y-young man. I don't know h-how I would have gotten out of there." The man said.

Nathan chuckled, "I suppose it would help if you had some smaller jackets," Nathan joked.

The man smiled, a warm smile the brightened up the day.

'Thank god he knows how to take jokes,' Nathan thought, relief that he wouldn't have to feel like a dick.

"So, just out of curiosity, do you live in that house up on the hill? I see you there all the time."

"No, but that is where I spend most of my days." The man breathed.

"Well, why don't I walk with you there, just to be safe?" Nathan smiled. One of his favorite things to do was help people, so he was way more than happy to bring this guy there.

"Thank you son, but that is quite alright. You need not worry about these old bones."  
"No, no I insist." Nathan responded. "Besides we're pretty close, and it looks like you might need some help clearing the snow from you door." He pointed to the house. Indeed the snow rose a quarter of the way up the door.

The old man laughed a hearty laugh, "Alright you win, take me there. I appreciate the assistance young man."  
"Absolutely, always happy to help."

They began to walk. Nathan was surprised at the mans stature. He hadn't noticed until now but he was very tall, especially for a man his age. He towered over Nathan, even without the ridiculous hat. His beard came to rest just below his shoulders, flowing at the winds mercy. If he was honest, the man was intimidating. But at the same time, he seemed gentle and kind. It wasn't what he was expecting.

For the better part of a half hour, they walked in relative silence, only speaking when one was giving the other directions. When they reached the stairs, Nathan decided to start a conversation. He was curious about the man, wanted to know why he was always at this house.

"SO, what is it exactly that you do in that house? Forgive my asking, I don't know if I sound rude or not, I'm just curious."

"It's quite alright, you were not rude in the slightest. My colleagues and I take care of Pokémon that were separated from their trainers after both of the team plasma incidents. As a way to atone for our sins."  
'So basically what he is doing for Grace. Also, sins?' Nathan wondered, "the hell is he talking about?'

Nathan grit his teeth at the mention of Team Plasma. The scumbags terrorized Unova, leaving it in a state of panic and destruction. After the previous incident, it took the combined efforts of the Sinnoh and Kalos regions to help get Unova back on its feet. While casualties were kept to a minimum, only rising into the hundreds as opposed to thousands, several important leaders of Unova were lost. Several gym leaders, an elite four member and the previous champion all lost their lives in that frozen hell. Worse yet, one of the hero's that stepped up and saved Unova, disappeared after the incident, taking the legendary Zekrom with him. He hasn't been seen since.

The other hero, a girl named Rosa, stepped up and became the champion in the wake of champion Iris's death. Even as an eighteen year old girl she has overseen most of the decisions of the Unovian government for years. It is believed that Reshiram is still under her care. While Nathan respected her as both a person and a leader, he didn't agree with everything she has been doing. While she had raised the legal age for a person to become a trainer, the reinstatement of the Unova league was met with opposition. Many believed it was too early to reform the league, saying that they should be focusing on rebuilding and paying reparations to those effected. Many believed it was the right time to reinstate the league, as it was a large source of revenue for Unova as a nation. Some thought it'd be best not to reinstate the league at all, claiming the plasma incidents were brought about because of it. But, Nathan believed them to be incredibly stupid. While Nathan detested the idea of being a trainer, he did see the value in the league.

"Here we are." The man said, breaking Nathan's train of thought.

The old man opened the door, a blast of warm air hitting Nathan. It felt welcoming.

"Athena? Concordia? Are you two here?" The old man shouted into the house.

Nathan heard a feminine voice respond cheerfully. "Yeah, we're in the play room with Salem Harmony, Jasmine and our newest guest. It's just us though, everybody else called in saying they couldn't leave their homes."

"That's quite alright, they are entitled to their days off." He said back. The old man turned to Nathan, beckoning him inside.

"Please, come in. It's cold outside and I am putting a kettle on."

Nathan smiled and nodded, pulling off his soaked shoes and jacket. The home was surprisingly spacious from what he saw on the outside. Wide open rooms bordering the long hallway and a ton of room for the Pokémon to run about and play.

Nathan rounded the corner into the kitchen. It was a modest sized room, fitting a rather new stove and oven combo, a sink and a fridge embedded into the wall. This all surrounding a central island.

"Milk or sugar… apologies I don't believe I caught your name."

"Oh, my name is Nathan. And sure I'll take some milk."

The man nodded, grabbing a carton out of the storage fridge. Seriously it was larger than his pantry. Nathan was slightly envious.

"My name is Rood. I have been living here in Driftveil ever since Team plasma was defeated in their castle seven years ago." Rood explained. For some reason, his name was somewhat familiar to Nathan, like he had heard it before. He pushed the thought aside, opting to mull it over later.

"Athena! Concordia! Would you care to join us for some tea? We have a guest!"

"Coming!" Nathan heard a different female voice this time. He watched as two girls rounded the corner. The first thing he noticed was the vibrancy of their hair. A beautiful soft pink and a striking bright yellow. The pink girl's hair flowed freely behind her, two long pink bangs sculpting her face. Her dark pink eyes seemed warm, almost soft. Her green shaul clinging to her shoulders while her bright pink summer dress gripped her body, showing off her form. She carried herself in a way that made her look rather reserved, shy and nervous.

The other girl allowed her long yellow braid trail down her back, meeting on the top of her head and protruding upward in two spikes, almost like the ears on an Eevee. Her blue blouse fit rather loosely, the bottom tucked away underneath her yellow skirt. She seemed much more peppy and cheerful than the other.

'Jesus Christ they are stunning,' Nathan thought, a slight blush meeting his cheeks as they spotted him and smiled.

Nathan looked again and noticed each was carrying a Pokémon. The pink girl held a small, black Pokémon that resembled a fox, its tail, paws in ears tipped with the color red.

The yellow girl held… Nathan had to do everything he could to keep from breaking down right there. An Eevee. She was holding an Eevee. The Pokémon he had wanted to start his journey with was right there.

His memories started coming back once again. The events of five years prior, haunting him, tormenting him. He turned away. As much as he loved the species, he couldn't look at it.

Rood handed him his cup of tea before handing it to the two girls.

The two girls sat on either side of him, boxing him in. Pink to his right, Yellow to his left. He dare not look to the left. Unfortunately, the girl in yellow had other plans.

"So, you gonna introduce us to this guy Rood? Or are we just going to keep it awkward?" She said

"Ah, yes, thank you for reminding me Concordia. This is Nathan. He helped me get back here after I fell in the snow. It really is quite nasty out there, hard to move."

"Hard to move around in that big coat of yours." Concordia laughed. She turned to Nathan, analyzing him quickly. "So Nathan, I suppose we should thank you for getting Rood. He really is a piece of work sometimes." Concordia snickered.

"I beg your pardon young lady?" Rood said, offended.

"Relax, ya old geezer. I'm teasing." Concordia responded.

Nathan kept his eyes forward, not daring to look at her.

"Of course, no problem. I'm sure anyone would do the same." He said, clearly on edge.

Concordia furrowed a brow, confused by his anxiety. "… You'd be surprised actually."

Nathan gulped and looked at the other girl. Their eyes met momentarily, the girl blushing brightly and looking away.

"It's nice to meet you." She whispered, still looking away as she held out her hand. When Nathan reached for it, the small fox Pokémon in her lap growled and attempted to nip him. He pulled his hand back just as the fox went for it.

"Salem! Why did you do that?! He was just shaking her hand!" Concordia yelled.

Rood sighed, pinching his nose and squeezing his eyes shut. "Apologies, that Zorua is… anxious around most humans. She was taken from her home when she was but a pup by team plasma. They killed her mother right in front of her eyes."

Nathan gasped. He looked back at the Zorua, this time in its eyes. They were so filled with hate and malice as they bore into him, as if screaming ' _I can't wait to tear you up.'_

Her eyes. They were so similar to how his used to look. He bit back a tear and took another sip of tea. "It's alright really. She has every right to be wary of us. I'm sure it took a long time to get her where she is now."

Athena spoke once again, this time with more vigor. "Yes it did. Years actually. She was so angry and scared. She would attack whenever we got near, trying to help her. One day, when I went to check on her near Nimbasa, I found her laying in a pool of her own blood. She had been attacked by wild Pokémon, though I don't know which they were. I brought her back here and treated her immediately. It took her a few days to wake up but she did. She was weak at first so I had to feed her. Clean her. Care for her. In the end we grew close. Though I didn't do it alone." She looked back down the hall. As if on cue, a Gothetelle turned towards them, walking out of another room. She stood about a foot shorter than Nathan. Something about this Pokémon put him on edge while at the same time calming him. Strange. The Gothetelle stopped behind Athena and eyeballed him, caution brimming its eyes.

"This is Jasmine," Athena whispered. "She has been my best friend since both of us were very young. She helps me with almost everything I do."

Hesitantly, Nathan raised his hand, this time away from the Zorua. "It's nice to meet you Jasmine. I'm Nathan. I promise I'm not normally this awkward."

The Pokémon looked back and forth between his hand and his eyes before slowly taking his hand and shaking it. Nathan smiled at her, glad she was at least allowing him to be courteous. He brought his tea back to his mouth

"Well," Concordia said, startling Nathan, "I think you should also meet my best friend. Hey Harmony, come here! We have a guest!"

"Coming!" Nathan heard another soft female voice. He was slightly shocked, as he assumed she meant the Pokémon she had known forever. But this shock was nothing compared to when he turned around. Walking towards them… was another Gardevoir.

Nathan almost choked on the tea, having to put it down to keep from dropping the cup. This was honestly the last thing he expected to see. How the hell was this girl friends with a Gardevoir?

Harmony the Gardevoir stood beside Concordia. Though the resemblance to Grace was shocking, there were some clear differences. Her hair rounded behind her head and under the spikes on her face. Her floor length gown split into multiple strips starting at the knees, flowing independently of each other. Most noticeable was that she did not have a scar above her shard. Which was encompassed by her small bust. A pale, bright shade of green colored her hair, covering her head in what looked like fresh spring leaves.

He gawked at her for a few more second, when his attention was drawn by Concordia yelling.

"Eevee, what are you doing! Don't jump off!"

Nathan was confused until he felt a small weight land on his lap. He looked down to see a small brown fuzz ball laying there. The Pokémon looked up at him with its big brown eyes and yipped happily, yelling its name and giving him a look that screamed _'Pet me, pet me, pet me!'_

Nathan froze. His breathing stopped and he gripped the counter with immense force. Knuckles turned white and the color drained from his face.

The Eevee frowned and tilted its head, wondering what the sudden change in this humans demeanor meant.

Nathan looked around, seeing the odd looks the others were giving him.

' _Shit! I gotta calm down! Breathe Nathan, breathe. Calm down. This is one of your favorite Pokémon. You should be thrilled that it's in your lap.'_

Nathan started breathing again, lowering his heart rate and regaining composure. He looked back at the Eevee. Its confusion now replaced with worry.

It was a look that melted his heart as the girls next to him said, "Awwwww" in unison.

He slowly reached down to pet it. He hesitated just before his hand touched its head. The Eevee, however, had different plans. Once his hand was close enough, the Eevee hopped up, placing its front paws on Nathans chest and its head underneath his hand. Nathan was startled at first. However, the anxiety that was twisting nots in his stomach slowly dissipated, replaced by the immense joy of what he was experiencing right now. One of his favorite Pokémon was sitting in his lap and kind of forced him to pet it. He was over the moon right now.

Meanwhile, without Nathan noticing, Harmony the Gardevoir had been scanning him, reading his thoughts and feeling out his mind. It was odd. His mind showed latent signs of psychic energy. Like, something Psychic had already gained access to his mind. Something powerful. She tried reaching further, only to be stopped by a sudden psychic wave. She grabbed her head and groaned, the psychic energy giving her a head splitting migraine. She didn't expect to feel this, but she knew exactly what it was.

Concordia shot out of her chair and grabbed Harmonies shoulder, concern dominating her feelings. "Harmony, are you alright?! What's wrong?!" She yelled.

"Yes, I'm fine." She brushed Concordia off, too curious by what she just felt. "But I have a better question. For him." She glared at Nathan. He was taken aback. She had been very calm and quiet until just now.

"Um, Harmony. I don't think I need to tell you this but He can't understand you genius."

"Oh but he can." Harmony hissed. "How have you come in contact with one of my kind? We are from the Hoenn region, and as far as I can tell from your mind, you haven't left Unova!"

Nathan almost puked. How could she possibly know about Grace? Before thirty minutes ago she hadn't even met him! Though, what he wanted to know most was…

"You dug through my mind?! Are you fricking crazy?! That's a complete violation of my privacy!" Nathan screamed.

"Yeah Harmony, that's kind of fucked up. We just met him." Concordia said.

"Oh quiet, you know I go through every new persons head. Besides, there was a considerable amount that wasn't even blocked by the psychic lock that I couldn't get to. Something he is suppressing of his own free will." Harmony scoffed, not looking away from Nathan.

"So human, how have you met one of my kind? I have an idea but I want to make sure first."

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about lady!" He lied. "Before today I didn't even know your species existed!" He didn't want to expose Grace to any potential trainer threats.

She laughed, "You lie. Your mind is being protected by a psychic lock, a calling card of a Gardevoirs claim to a mind."

Grace had claimed his mind… 'If I live this, I am having a very serious talk with her.'

"For all we know, you could be a part of the plasma remnants, here to steal some of us away and kill these humans! So either start talking or…" Harmony began to shake. The sudden shift in emotion. It was… terrifying. One second he was backed into a corner, fearing for his life. The next, he is seething with rage and… something darker. Harmony took a step back. _'I may have fucked up a bit.'_

Nathan spoke in a low growl, his eyes now shielded by his long bangs.

"Excuse you and your entire race?" He hissed, malice coating his voice. "First of all, I have never heard of these 'Plasma Remnants' as you call them. I thought all of Plasma was wipe five years ago. Nobody ever told me they were still around." Nathan spat. He was burning with anger. Stood up, the Eevee jumping to the counter, a little fearful itself.

"Second. Don't you ever, and I mean EVER, compare ME to those... those… MONGRELS! Those scumbags have been a nightmare for our nation for years. You don't even know who I am! How dare you! They killed-, "Nathan didn't finish. He just stopped. He couldn't fight back the tears anymore. They poured from his eyes. This was already something he hadn't told Grace about, even if he trusted her so much.

Out of nowhere, Nathan felt something soft and warm nuzzle his face. He looked to his left to see the Eevee on his shoulder. Its face contorted in a twist of concern and sadness. Nathan reached up and grabbed it from his shoulder. He held it in front of his face and looked into the Pokemon's soft brown eyes. He noticed something he hadn't before. Mixed in with the brown, almost unnoticeable at first, were flecks of the most beautiful color purple he had ever seen.

The Eevee started wagging its tail and gave him a small lick on the nose. Nathan's eyes widened, not expecting the little fuzz ball to try and comfort him. Then when it did it again he started to laugh. Quietly at first but as time passed he started to laugh harder. He pulled the small creature into his chest and held it there. It nuzzled into him and closed its eyes, snuggling into the human's warmth.

"Thank you, little one. I… I needed that." His tears tapered off and he just held the Eevee. For whatever reason, just holding the small creature made him happy. Washed away those negative feelings, replacing them entirely.

Concordia glared at Harmony before smacking the back of the Pokemon's head. She pointed at Nathan. "Apologize. Now." Concordia growled.

Harmony gulped and nodded, turning to Nathan and tiddling her fingers, anxiety wracking her body. "I'm… I'm very sorry, human. I didn't realize your feelings towards the members of Plasma. If I had I would not have implicated that you were one of them. I am also sorry I went through your mind." She looked down, mortified at what she had said to him.

"It's… It's alright. You didn't know and you were just being cautious. I suppose I can understand why you would be wary. I don't know for sure but my guess is these guys are easier targets for plasma. You were just trying to protect them and your friends. To be fair, I wasn't being truthful." Nathan said. These people seem to be good people, and they hate Plasma as much as I do from what I can tell. These isn't any harm in them knowing that Grace is a thing… I think. "I have met one of your kind before. In fact she… kind of lives with me."

Concordia looked confused. "Living with you? What you mean you're her trainer?"

"No, I'm not. She is just living with me, leave it at that." Nathan said. He still wouldn't let them know what she was wild. That would be a poor rumor to spread around. Couldn't risk it.

Concordia was silent. The tension was nearly unbearable. Athena looked like she was about to pass out. Rood looked… surprisingly indifferent. Concordia still looked beyond confused and Harmony was moping.

Nathan felt bad for yelling like he did. And lying. And losing his temper. Really he just felt bad.

So he decided to hold out his hand. It might be corny and stupid, but hell it's worth a shot.

"Look why don't we start over. My name is Nathan. I hate plasma, live with a Gardevoir and couldn't do a desk job even if my life depended on it. I'd probably shoot myself first."  
Harmony looked up and gave him a small smile. She reached out her own hand.

The minute they collided, Nathan's world went black.

 **An hour earlier, Nathans House**

Grace came down the stairs to find that she was now alone in the house. She scoured the first floor to find no trace of Nathan. Now feeling slightly anxious, Grace came up with an idea. The Gardevoir closed her eyes, took a deep breath and made an attempt to feel out her friends emotions. At first, she felt nothing. Seconds turned into minutes. It took five minutes for Grace to finally fell Nathan. He was with someone, heading north into town.

As soon as she felt him, Grace grabbed one of his coats from the rack. For whatever reason, she was worried. In the pit of her stomach, she knew something wasn't right.

She shuffled through the snow, following the faint glow of Nathan's emotions. Right now, he was content. A sense of pride flowed from the young man, overshadowing any other feelings he might have. It was almost nauseating.

 _'God, whatever you did Nathan, pat yourself on the back more why don't you.'_ She grumbled to herself. She smacked her cheeks a couple times to regain her composure. Now was not the time to be ripping on him. She still could feel the knot in her stomach, and it was slowly getting tighter.

Grace rounded a corner, catching a glimpse of Nathan for a second. He was sporting his purple light coat, hands hidden by its pockets. Though what caught her attention more was the figure standing next to him. The figure towered over Nathan, even without the goofy looking hat on his head. The bottom of his calf length brown coat dragged across the surface of the snow, soaking it. ' _Why couldn't I feel his presence though?'_ She wondered.

Nathan asked him something, turning to the figure. Grace gazed at the figure, trying to get a good glimpse of their face. Unfortunately, that's all she received. A glimpse. He turned to look at Nathan for a fraction of a second, only allowing Grace to see the man's long, snow white beard. Whatever sense of dread Grace was feeling, she at least knew it didn't emanate from him. Rather, from the direction they were heading.

Grace wanted to run and grab Nathan, to drag him back to their home if necessary. But she felt that would only succeed to piss him off. Not to mention, she would probably seem slightly creepy if Nathan found her stalking him… again.

She decided to keep her distance and continue to follow, hoping and praying this knot would go away before they reached their destination.

A short while later, she passed the Center. She contemplated whether she should ask Joy for help. Over the past month or so, Grace had learned to trust that women ever so slightly. She was about to turn and head to the Center, but hesitated when she saw where the two in front of her had gone. They began climbing a flight of stairs, leading to a singular house on the end of the hill. She and Nathan saw it from time to time when they walked about town. But neither ever discovered who lived there or what it was for. Supposedly several years ago it was the base to this team Plasma that Nathan spoke of occasionally.

Grace started to shake when she layed eyes upon the house. While looking quaint and homey, she felt an incredibly powerful psychic inside it. She saw Nathan walk towards the house with the man and began to feel panic. Even if she didn't sense any malice or hostility from the house, she couldn't shake the sense of dread. It racked her body and kept her frozen.

She watched as Nathan entered the home, terrified for her only friend. Slowly, Grace began walking up the steps. Each step was like lifting a two ton boulder on her shoulders, her fear completely crushing the Gardevoir.

What happened her next startled her. She felt slight amount of anxiety from Nathan, before it was masked with an incredible amount of… joy.

He was happy. Very happy. An amount of Joy she hadn't sensed from Nathan before.

Grace looked down, a little upset about the feeling. Why hadn't he felt like that around her before? Sure she felt his joy and how content he was when they were together, but never to this level. She was slightly jealous. Until she slapped herself across the face again.

 _'Focus girl,'_ Grace thought, ' _now is not the time.'_

She was brought out of her stupor when Grace felt what she had feared. The psychic was making its way to Nathan. When it got close to him, Grace instantly felt grow hostile.

Grace turned her brisk pace into a full blown sprint, not even caring to levitate to the home. Even through all the snow, she ran like there was nothing there.

She felt Nathan's emotions change again, only now, she only felt rage. Pure, burning fury and anger. Whatever the psychic was doing it was provoking Nathan, putting him on the defensive. It scared her. Oddly, it apparently scared the psychic inside as well. Grace felt it begin to back off, clearly rattled by Nathans sudden change.

Just as quickly as his rage had appeared, it disappeared, leaving only a feeling of guilt in its wake. Grace reached the door and gripped the door handle, but stopped just before she was about to turn it.

Nothing. She felt nothing. She couldn't sense Nathan anymore. His emotions, his mind, nothing was there she couldn't feel it. Her anxiety skyrocketed and the knot tightened. She felt her tears begin to well up. Why couldn't she sense him? Why couldn't she feel her friend? What the hell just happened to the boy?!

"What the hell did you do, Harmony?! Why did he just collapse?!" Grace heard a female voice yell.

[I was just trying to cut the link! The link was unstable, it wasn't formed correctly! It was damaging his brain, I didn't think it would kill him!] Another voice yelled, this time in Poke Speech.

' _Kill?'_ Grace whimpered to herself. ' _He's dead? He can't be.'_

Grace felt her hand slip from the door and her tears flowed. She couldn't believe it. Her best and only friend was-

"Wait, he's breathing! I think he is only unconscious!" The first voice yelled again.

Grace lifted her head up at this. If he was alive, why couldn't she feel him?

Not waiting to figure out the answer, Grace felt all her sadness and anxiety replace by pure, murderous rage. She lifted her hand, a faint blue light wrapping around it as her eyes began to glow purple. The door was ripped from its hinges, tossed aside like a Frisbee.

"NATHAN!" Grace screamed as she ran into the house.

She ran down the hall, and what she saw caught her off guard. In front of her were three humans, one being the old man she saw earlier, and two bright haired girls. Nathan was on his back on the ground, his eyes rolled back into his head. He was deathly pale and looked very weak. But what shocked her the most was the Gardevoir standing right next to his body.

Grace looked at the Pokémon and then back to Nathan, realizing just who the psychic she felt was. Grace turned to the Gardevoir again, eyes full of hate and anger.

"YOU!" Grace screamed as she lift her right arm. It glowed a bright purple, radiating power. The other Gardevoir was enveloped in the same purple light, before being lifted off the ground and slammed into the wall behind it.

The Gardevoir coughed as air escaped its lungs. The humans just stood there, gawking at what happened in the past thirty seconds.

"YOU'RE GOING TO TELL ME RIGHT NOW WHAT THE FUCK YOU JUST DID TO HIM, OR I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL TEAR YOU APART, LIMB FROM LIMB, PIECE BY MOTHERFUCKING PIECE!"

The other Gardevoir looked at the new face, eyes filled with fear, facing her own death.

Finally, the blonde human spoke. "Let her go! She didn't know it would hurt him!"

"SHUT UP!" Grace screamed, forcing the girl back with a blast of telekinetic force.

Turning back to her captive, Grace glared at her, seething with anger and hate.

"It… It was an accident" The Gardevoir whimpered, struggling to speak.

"How in the HELL is that," Grace yelled, pointing at Nathan, "an accident?!"

"I… I didn't know it would do that. The link was hurting him, I don't know why he blacked out. Please let me go." She said.

Grace glared at the Gardevoir. She didn't want to drop her. She really didn't. But she did anyway, rushing over to Nathan as soon as she did. She grabbed the humans head and scanned his face. He was deathly pale, completely devoid of color. His breathing was shallow and labored, his face and body slick with sweat.

She pet him as a few angry tears fell from her eyes. For whatever reason she still couldn't poke into his mind, no matter how hard she tried. It frightened her. Even if she didn't poke into his mind much at all, she wanted to know she was connected to him. It may sound a bit possessive to some but… Nathan was all she had. She couldn't lose him.

Grace felt a presence behind her, but didn't bother turning around. She felt no hostility, rather she felt concern. She continued to pet his head.

"I assume you are the Gardevoir he told us about?" Said the old man.

Grace remained silent, pretending not to hear the old human. She was still viciously angry, but it was overshadowed by the concern for her human.

"May I see your friend? I may be able to help." The old man said. Grace just shook her head. She had no intention of letting any of them touch him. Instead she picked him up with her psychic powers and started to leave.

"Wait!" the other Gardevoir yelled. "You should at least know that he ended up like that… when I cut the psychic link you two had formed. I only cut it because it was placing enormous stress on his mind."

Grace stopped in her tracks. She was stunned. She had no clue they had even formed one. Sure she could peak into his mind but she didn't know it required a link. When did it even form?

"So… when he wakes up, give him a little time and then try to reform it."

 _'But… I don't even know how to reform it.'_ She thought, her shoulders sagging a bit.

She looked down and walked out the now non-existent door.

 **December 29** **th** **9:45pm Age 2207, Nathan's room**

Grace placed the washcloth in the bowl of warm water, ringing it out and placing it on the human's head. He was ice cold and was shaking like mad, the flesh of his face still white as snow. Even if he was freezing cold, Nathan was still slick with sweat. His face and chest glistened in the light of his lamp. Even if she was beyond worried about him, she couldn't deny that it was indeed gross.

She remembered thought back on what that Gardevoir told her. The link they formed, undenounced to her, was effecting his mind. She felt guilty. Really guilty. It was the third time she managed to cause him harm. The stress of the link being severed coupled with his concussion was probably why he was like this right now. That was her best guess anyway.

She reached down and grabbed the human's hand, cradling it against her chest. It was wickedly cold, goosebumps forming where his skin met hers. She just wanted to hold him there, praying he would be alright.

An hour or so passed and Grace began to feel her eyes droop. She was exhausted. But she didn't want to leave his side. What if he woke up in the middle of the night?

She was broken from this thought when she felt his hand squirming against her chest. She looked up to see Nathan writhing in agony. His eyes squeezed shut, him almost flailing, fear gripping his face as tears streamed down.

She watched helplessly as the nightmare took control of his body. He would whimper and whine and cry and all she did was watch.

Grace did what she normally did whenever she found him like this. She placed her hand on his forehead, allowing calm and soothing feelings to flow.

Only to be launched back and disconnected from him. His mind had… rejected her? How? His mind had always been susceptible to the calming. Was it because their link was cut?

Nathan continued to jerk about and thrash. She had to try again. She placed her hand on his head and was once again launched from him. She wouldn't give up. Again and again she tried. Again and again she failed. After the sixth attempt, her head was screaming in pain, her vision was blurry from the rejection.

To her, this was more agonizing than watching him suffer through this. Knowing she couldn't do anything to help someone important to her. She curled up into a ball and wept. She sobbed for what seemed like hours, her tears burning her dark eyes. She would never forgive that Gardevoir bitch for this. Grace couldn't help him because of her messing with his mind.

Nathan stopped thrashing soon thereafter, the nightmare seeming to have died off.

Grace raised her gaze to the boy once again, this time filled with relief. He was still but she could see him breathing. It wasn't as labored as before and was at a steadier pace. He still lacked any semblance of color and was still sweating profusely but he was improving.

She smiled and wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. With the adrenaline of the past hour wearing off, she felt exhaustion hit her like a freight train. She suddenly felt lethargic and struggled to keep her eyes open. Still, she was not leaving him alone tonight.

Slowly, Grace climbed into the bed with him, not taking her eyes off him for a second. She wrapped her arms around him and held him close, relaxing as she listened to the steady beat of his heart. She was surprised at her sudden boldness, but found herself enjoying the moment, relishing the feeling of the boy wrapped in her arms. She smiled, finally allowing sleep to take her.

 **? Time ? Date age ? Place ?**

Run, all he could do was run. Darkness crept up around his ankles, threatening to trip him up, pull him down, and make him fall. He ran, breathless, fear lacing his eyes. To his left, screams of agony and terror. His right, the cracking of ice, boots stomping against earth.

Nathan ran for what seemed like eternity. Faintly, he began hearing a voice. A very familiar voice. One he hadn't heard in years. He wanted to run towards it, even if it was a figment of this hellish dreamscape. He didn't care. He sprint towards the voice, hoping to see her face again.

A figure began to come into view. Slender and tall, curvaceous and poised. Long hair flowing past her shoulders, catching the breeze. Arms rest at her side, snuggled by a warm sweater.

Nathan smiled, like he always did when he saw her in his dreams. He missed his mother every day, every second. She was taken from him and he blames himself whenever he realizes he failed to protect her.

"Mom!" He screamed, his voice echoing around the pitch black void. He knew what would happen. He would call out to her, nothing would happen. He'd call again, still nothing. Eventually she would fade and he'd be left alone. He had this dream so many times before it was burned into his memory.

Only this time something different happened. She began to turn. She turned to face him. Nathan beamed as she turned, waiting to see the warm smile alive on her face.

Nathan went into full throttle, now wanting nothing more than to hug his mother and tell her he was sorry.

Only to be met with a ringing gunshot and a spatter of blood.

 **9:25 am, December 31st** **age 2207, Nathan's room**

Searing, splitting pain was all Nathan felt as he opened his eyes. Spots dotted his vision and the world span on its heel, as if to show Nathan whose boss. He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the spinning to stop. He was nauseous. Very nauseous.

' _Oh sh-'was_ all he managed to think before bent over his bed and emptied whatever remained in his stomach. Luckily for him, there had been a bowl there to stop him from barfing all over the floor.

He laid his head back down, the wave of nausea now fading into the background. Come to think of it, how did he end up in his room in the first place? Last he remembered, he was at the house on the hill. The details were a little fuzzy, but he vaguely remembered helping a man get there and then meeting his colleagues. Then nothing.

He groaned as his head began throbbing again, shielding his eyes from the light with the flat of his hands. What happened while he was at that house? He felt like he had a Saturday hangover on a Tuesday. To a certain degree the symptoms of his concussion had tapered off about a week prior. Had they just resurfaced? No, that wouldn't explain such a sudden blackout. His head hurt too much to think about this right now. Nathan groaned once again as he lay flat against the bed, staring up at the ceiling. It was peaceful…

… For about five seconds. Nathan heard his door creak open slowly. He slowly turned his head and saw a pair of wide crimson eyes poking through the slit in the door. Then the door was thrown open and she came running into the room, straight for Nathan.

Nathan sat up and quickly raised his arms to defend, spewing out nonsensical sounds as she approached. Grace tackled him into a bear hug, throwing him back down onto the bed with a grunt as any and all semblance of air left his system. Nathan had heard of being in a tight squeeze but this was just too much.

"G-Grace, Can't breathe! P-Please let go!" Nathan said through strained gasps for breathe.

She shook her head, firmly pressing it into his chest. She squeezed harder, wrapping her arms around his waist in a vice grip.

Nathan was too tired and accepted his fate. Hugged to death by Gardevoir. There were worse ways to go… right?

He relaxed a bit when her grip loosened but held firm. He drew in a few shaky breaths

"Thanks for choosing not to kill me. Now could you please let me go?" He asked, now slightly irritated at his roommates sudden sign of affection.

She shook her head again, now raising it to his shoulders, resting it lightly against his neck. He could feel the warmth of her breath against his skin, causing wave upon wave of goosebumps to rise upon them. His cheeks reddened slightly, getting slightly nervous about how bold she was being. She had never been this affectionate before, what the hell happened to him?

Nathan tried one more time, voice shaking with a nervous undertone. "Look, I appreciate vice grip hugs as much as the next guy, but this is kind of unlike you. It's wei-"  
"Nathan, I thought I lost you two days ago. Shut up and let me have this." Grace returned, slight hostility lacing her words.

He did just that. He was still shocked by her drastic change in behavior, but if he were honest, it wasn't unwelcomed. Rarely did Joy, his best friend on the damn planet, ever show affection towards him. He hadn't felt something like this in years.

' _At least she isn't being overdramatic and isn't crying her eyes out over me waking up. Like those characters in some of the shit on T.V.'_ He thought.

Slowly, and rather reluctantly at first, Nathan returned the hug. He closed his eyes and rest his chin on the top of her head, enveloped in her soft mint hair. He stroked her hair, as if to reassure her and himself that this was real. It ended just below her shoulders and hung freely, unlike most of the others in her species. From what he had seen online, it normally curled around the spikes protruding from their face and looked rather stiff and rigid. It was almost comforting knowing this girl was different in that way.

After a few minutes of silence, Nathan said, "Sorry if I made you worry Grace. I legitimately have no clue what happened."

Grace broke the hug and lightly punched his arm, flashing him a bright smile. "Come on dude, I was worried, but don't go and get all soppy and sentimental on me. You and I both know we find that very annoying."

Nathan chuckled, wincing slightly as his head throbbed. He returned the smile and gave a slight nod.

"So, clearly you know what happened while I was at that house. Mind filling me in? I remember meeting those girls and then after that it's all a haze."

Grace hesitated for a second, not sure what she should tell him. If she told him about that psychic link, would he want to try and reform it?

"Well to be honest dude, I didn't get there till after you hit the floor. I sort of, kinda, maybe followed you the whole time." Grace said, a small blush forming on her cheeks.

"Wait you followed me? Jesus you really know how to stay quiet. I had no clue you followed us. How did you even know where we were?"

"I followed your emotional trail, duh. I thought you knew my species could do that. You read up on us right?" Grace said playfully, giving Nathan a small smirk.

"Well, yeah I knew you could, but I read it was just a general pickup of emotions. How did you manage to know it was me and not some random dude?"

"Well, see about that… apparently we had some sort of psychic link and it allowed me to distinct you from everyone else."

Nathan looked stunned. But, it felt like he was… happy.

"A psychic link! That's so cool! What do I, like, have psychic powers now or something? When did you even make it?"

"See that's the thing. I don't exactly know when or how I made it. I only found out that we had one when I found you unconscious in that house." Grace grimaced at the recent memory. She felt so useless. Sure, he promised he would always protect her. But what if he was the one needing the protecting? What if she failed to the same for him again?

"Oh yeah sort of forgot the obvious question there. How did I black out?"

Grace looked up at him. He was so excited to find out that they had a psychic connection. But now she had to tell him that it was broken thanks to that bitch Gardevoir. Grace looked down again. No, she wasn't a bitch. She said it herself. The link they had was improper. Incomplete. It was just damaging his mind. She helped him, inadvertatly hurting him, but still, her intention was to help. She took a deep breath and met his stare again.

"You passed out because the link we had was severed. The other Gardevoir destroyed it because… It was damaging your brain. Our link was unstable and your untrained brain couldn't handle the stress, especially after the concussion. Your already damaged mind couldn't handle the sudden relief of pressure when she cut the link and it made you pass out. After that… I destroyed the door to the house and ran in to get you." Grace looked down again, feeling guiltier than ever. She couldn't help feeling so terrible. She had hurt this guy so much, whether it be intentional or not. She even failed the creation of her first link. Hell, to humans, that was basically like their first kiss. It was meant to be special and she failed. She was about to cry when she felt a sudden pressure under her chin. Her head lifted to meet something she didn't expect. Nathans eyes. They were warm and comforting. Their softness soothed her and calmed her down. She moved in to hug the boy. God damnit why did he make her feel this way.

"Grace, I know how you're feeling right now. I can tell by the look on your face. You feel bad about the link. About how it was hurting me. I hope you know that I'm not mad what so ever. Even if it was hurting me, it was something I could share with my friend. Even if it is gone now, we can always remake it." He said, petting the top of her head as he held her. Her grip tightened around him, threatening to break him in two. She nodded against his chest and remained silent, wanting to extend this moment for as long as possible.

After a few minutes the two broke the hug and looked over each other's faces. Then, they began to snicker, and giggle and finally burst out laughing.

"Jesus dude, when did you go and get all emotional on me. Normally you're about as cold as ice, it's freaking me out a little." Grace managed to say through laughs.

"'Bout the same time you started getting that touchy feely. Christ I'm pretty sure the majority of the time I have been awake you have been clinging on to me like a god damn toddler." Nathan continued laughing, glad the tension was dying down. He would never admit to her how much he enjoyed the hugs.

"Oh shut up man! I only did that because you… you uh… just shut up okay." Color rose to her cheeks and she smiled, embarrassed at her lack of a retort.

They remained silent again, an awkward tension now filling the room. Nathan then remembered something from the day he passed out.

"Oh yeah Grace. Didn't you have an idea about your wild situation? I remember you heading upstairs before I took off to think about it. Do you have a solution in mind?

Grace perked up at this. She had completely forgotten about that conversation up until this point. She remembered her idea as well as the decision she made. Now she was sure of it. She could trust him. Wholeheartedly. She was confident she wouldn't regret making this decision.

"Yeah I did." She started. She was nervous. Even when if she was sure about her decision, she still could feel the knot in her stomach tighten. She steeled her resolve, forcing the knot to loosen and allow her to finish. "Let me start off by saying this Nathan. I trust you wholeheartedly. This past month has been enough to show me that maybe not all of humanity is bad. I haven't exactly had the best experience with humans, but you have been completely different. You care for me, treat me as an equal, house me, fed me. Christ you took me in after I hurt you and gave you a concussion. You have become my closest friend. Well you're also my only friend but that's beside the point. What I'm trying to say is, I don't want to leave you. You mean a lot to me man, seriously. I don't know where I'd be right now had you not been in that cave. If I'm honest, I'd probably be dead. That's why I came to this decision. I want you to use that ball," Grace pointed to the premier ball, lying haphazardly on the desk, "to catch me and register me under your name."

Nathan just gawked at her. Had he heard her right? Or was the concussion now back in full force and he was hearing things?

"I'm sorry, you want me to what?" He stammered.

"You heard me Nathan. Catch me and register me under your name so we won't have to worry about this anymore. Seriously the amount of shit you have been through, this should probably be the least of your worries."

Nathan was shell shocked. After all the panicking he did about trying to figure out how to keep her safe without catching her, SHE chooses to be caught?! By HIM! WHY! It frustrated Nathan. But at the same time he felt relieved and touched. He was touched by her speech, and how highly she thought of him.

Nathan chuckled before scratching the back of his head. "It's funny Grace. I think I feel the same way. Joy is honestly like my older sister more than she is a friend and… I've never really had a friend before you came into my life. I just lived day to day without any second thoughts. I honestly hated my life. But then I find an injured Gardevoir in chargestone cave and my life just flips. You really mean a lot to me Grace and I don't want to lose you either."

"Then it's settled." Grace reached her hand towards the ball and a thin blue glow emanated from her and the sphere. It began to float, heading directly for Nathan. It dropped into his hand and he stared at it, as if trying to elicit some response from the ball.

"Are you sure about this Grace? If we do this, the only way we can turn back is if-"Before Nathan finished, Grace reached out and tapped the center of the ball. Her form was sucked into the ball as a faint red light and the ball began to shake. After shaking three times, it stopped, flashed for a second, then emitted a small 'beep' and it was done. Grace was now captured and registered to his name.

Immediately, Nathan opened the ball and let Grace out, who looked slightly shaken from the experience. She turned and grabbed his shoulders, squeezing hard.

"Please just don't put me back in there." She said shakily.

Nathan nodded and put the ball on his pillow. He motioned for Grace to sit down next to him and he slung an arm over her shoulders as she did.

"So what now? Are we good or is there more we have to do." Grace asked.

"Well, now that I have caught you, we have to go to the center tomorrow and get me registered as a trainer. Even if I don't plan on taking the league challenge, I have to be a registered trainer to use that ball." Nathan breathed. He could hardly believe that he was now, technically speaking, a Pokémon trainer. Something he vowed he'd never do. He was slightly giddy at the idea but that was masked by the shame he felt over breaking his vow.

He was about to brood more when he felt a light jab to his ribs.

"Don't be ashamed about this Nathan. I wanted this. Besides, like you said, we aren't gonna be taking the league challenge, whatever that is. So there is no point in brooding over this."

Nathan sighed, defeated. A grin formed across his face. She was right, there was no point in brooding. He was a trainer by name only.

"Though, if you wouldn't mind Nathan, I'd still like to learn more about the league challenge, if you wouldn't mind. I'd just like to know what I am missing out on." Grace told him, a hint of curiosity in her voice.

Nathan nodded. It was the least he could do for her.

"Alright, well I'm exhausted. I'm gonna go take a nap. Can you wake me up for dinner?" Grace asked. She did look exhausted.

"Yeah, how do burgers sound for tonight?" Nathan replied.

"Hell yes dude! You know that shit is my favorite!" She beamed.

"Alright, I'll come get you in a few hours. I am probably gonna sleep some more myself. I still kinda feel like shit."

Grace nodded and walked towards the door. She opened up the door to her room and flopped on the bed, sleep claiming her in minutes.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey there, everyone. First update in a while. I hope I can explain it all to your satisfaction in this note. Please read through the entirety of the note or skip past the explanation, because I have an update on the poll for the side story.**

 **So first of, clearly I am not dead, nor is this project. I promised myself and a friend of mine who is reading it that I would see it through to the end and I don't go back on my word. The reason for my long intermission is rather personal. A good friend of mine that I have known well throughout my high school life (I am in college now) passed away last November. Shortly after the last chapter went up, a memorial service was held for him, which I attended. I miss him every single day and attending that was very difficult to say the least. For a while I didn't have the motivation to write. Before anyone asks, (apologies if this offends someone... somehow... it shouldn't) No, I was not, am not, and will never be suicidal. It was just something I had to cope with again. After a couple weeks we entered the end of the season at the pool I work at, a lot of people had to leave to go back to school and such, so I became very, very, VERY busy. I couldn't find time to sit down and write. This is part of the reason why I am no longer sticking to a set schedule. I can't promise something won't come up and I will be forced to take a break from writing. Until I am able to confidently say I have a much more stable schedule and amount of free time, I am going to update when I can. If you are disappointed, well I'm sorry, but there really isn't much I can do.**

 **With that out of the way, It dawned on me that I never explicitly said that the poll for the side story was on my profile. Which is why only one vote was cast... yeah.**

 **So I am taking that pole down and starting a new one, -WHICH WILL BE ON MY PROFILE-. One of the options has changed as I fell out of interest with it rather quickly. SO options are:**

 **Coordinator story, OCxNinetails**

 **Spice and Wolf homage, OCxReshiram**

 **The third option will be an attempt at making my own world/region/whatever with a completely original premise. I am leaning towards a sort of sci-fi/cyberpunk or steampunk adventure type deal with an OCxLatias pairing. One of the few "official" ships in Pokemon that I very much enjoy and read a lot is altoshipping, the romantic pairing of Ash and Latias. Heros is one of my favorite movies and I have recently found a desire to use a Latias in a story. No it is not the Latias from Altomare. As I said this will not be set in the Pokemon Universe. Pokemon will just be apart of the universe I create. And, no, Ash will not be involved in any way, shape or form.**

 **The poll will be live until the next chapter is posted. again it - WILL BE ON MY PROFILE-**

 **Enjoy the chap**

 **Disclaimer:**

 **The following is a fan-based story.**

 **Any songs, books, videos, characters, etc. that are used, and are not explicitly stated to be of my own creation, fall under the guise of the Fair-use Policy. Any and all credit for what is used goes to their respective owners/creators.**

 **The Pokemon Franchise is owned by:**

 **Satoshi Taijiri**

 **Nintendo**

 **Gamefreak**

 **The Pokemon Company**

 **Please support the official release**

 **January 1st, 7:30 am age 2208, Streets of Driftveil**

The morning air blew crisp and cold, wisps of snow picked up off the ground in the wind. Nathan trudged through the snow, wading his way to the center. Grace followed closely to his side, floating just above the surface of the snow, wrapped up in one of Nathan's old jackets.

"You know it hardly seems fair that you can float while I have to freeze walking through this shit," Nathan grumbled.

"Oh is poor baby a little cold. Why don't you just make yourself float?" Grace giggled as she teased him.

Nathan glared at her, debating how he should get back at the gardevoir. Weighing his options, he finally grinned after remembering a certain complaint she had the other day.

Grace noticed the evil smile that had spread on the boys face, gaining a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Uh, Nathan… what's with the creepy look?" Grace gave him a nervous laugh.

"Oh nothing, you'll find out later," Nathan said, not even trying to hide the evil undertone.

Grace swallowed, breaking out in a nervous sweat.

The two rounded the corner of a hotel, the Pokemon center now in full view. They approached the door and stopped, hearing Joy yelling inside.

"THE HELL DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T COME IN TODAY?!" She screamed.

Nathan and Grace glanced at each other before stepping in the building, praying that they were not noticed.

"WELL THAT'S YOUR OWN GOD DAMN FAULT, NOW ISN'T IT! MAYBE NEXT TIME, YOU DON'T GET SO HAMMERED YOU… hello?"

The voice on the other end had been replaced by a beep, indicating the person on the other end hung up. Joy threw her phone across the room, landing just a few feet from Nathan. She pinched the bridge of her nose, resting her head on the heel of her hand.

"Good thing there aren't any other people in the lobby right now. You'd of scared everyone off." Nathan teased. He instantly regretted it.

Joy turned her eyes on him, her eyes filled with rage.

"Oh really Nathan, am I really lucky? Because right now, our shipment crew are currently all out sick and I need a replacement part for the healing machine brought up from Castelia, and unless we pick it up by the third, we pay double. So please, tell me how in the hell I am lucky?"

Nathan stood there silent. He wanted to say something, but he also liked his head right where it was. He decided it would be best not to say anything, not risking pissing her off even more.

Joy let out a long sigh, and closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry I snapped, I am really stressing over this part. The new healer broke down yesterday and we have had to resort to the previous model. It takes three times as long to heal and that's just not time we can afford to give up here." Joy groaned once again, resting her chin in the palms of her hands.

"Anyway, what are you two here so early for?"

Nathan glanced at Grace, flashing her a small grin. She gave him a light smile and poked him with her elbow. Nathan turned back to Joy, the grin never leaving his face.

"I need to register as a trainer so we can properly register Grace to my name. We came to an agreement on how to handle her situation."

Joy gawked at the boy in front of her.

"Hold on, let me get this straight. You," Joy said, pointing at Nathan, "caught her," Joy said, moving her finger to the gardevoir next to him, "and now want to be a trainer."

This time Grace was the one to speak.

"Well, yes and no. Yes he did technically catch me, though it really was more my decision. But, no, he doesn't want to be a trainer, per say. We did this so that I wouldn't be considered wild anymore. He and I hold pretty much the same view on battles so that was never really an issue. Besides," she paused, slinging an arm over Nathan's shoulder, "I trust him to take good care of me."

Of course to Joy, all she could here was the Pokemon saying it's name over and over. Nathan covered his mouth to keep from laughing hysterically. Grace looked at Nathan, trying to figure out what he was laughing about. She turned and saw the look on Joys face, remembering only Nathan could understand her. She looked down, face now completely flush.

Nathan collected himself, deciding to translate.

"She was saying that, yes I caught her, but it really was her decision. It was really just to make sure she wasn't seen as wild. I don't really have any desire to battle and neither does she."

Joy gripped the counter in a white knuckled squeeze, doing her best to suppress the jealousy raging through her right now. This Pokemon had her arm draped over a boy she had fallen for long ago like she owned him. She put on her best fake smile, feigning a calm exterior.

"That's good, I'm glad you two figured this out. You wouldn't believe how annoying he got Grace, calling me in the middle of the night and begging for my help. It was precious." Joy said.

"Awwww, Nathan, you cared that much. That's sweet." Grace pinched his cheek, squeezing and shaking his head from side to side.

Nathan swatted her hand away and glared at her.

"Keep that up and it's the last nice thing I do for you." Nathan growled.

"Fine, fine no need to get so defensive Nathan," Grace said, removing her arm from his shoulder.

Nathan rolled his eyes and turned back to Joy, now slightly irritated.

"Anyway, can we get this done so we can out of here. We wanted to head to the gym and see if we can talk to Clayton."

"Wait I thought you weren't going to actually be a trainer," Joy wondered.

"I did, but she is still curious about the league challenge, and I promised I'd help her learn about it. Figured I might as well go and see a leader for that info."

Joy stifled a giggle. "Yeah, good luck with that Nathan. I doubt you will get to Clayton without a battle. He isn't one for small talk."

Nathan shrugged. "It's worth a shot. If he doesn't want to give up the information without a battle, then I just go find another source."

Joy crossed her arms and gave him a quizzical look. "You do realize that you can just look it up online, right?"

"Well no shit Sherlock, but where's the fun in that. Besides, I'm pretty sure a gym leader would be a better source of info."

Joy rolled her eyes, giving a bored sigh. "Whatever, come with me, we can get the paperwork and get your license."

 **January 1st, 9:20am age 2208, Driftveil Pokemon Center**

Nathan walked out of an office, trainer license in hand. The picture wasn't the best shot of him, but also was nowhere near the worst.

"Alright, you should be set. Grace is now registered to your name and you can legally use her ball." Joy looked up from the paperwork they just finished. "I don't think I need to tell you this, but if she ever gets hurt, bring her to a center and the machine will heal her."

"That may be a bit difficult. She hates being in there," Nathan said. Grace flushed a light pink, slightly embarrassed.

"That's fine. We can still provide medical care, it would just take longer."

Grace brightened up at that. She wouldn't have to be forced into that prison, which was enough for her.

"Thanks a ton Joy. I appreciate all your help." Nathan smiled. "Ready to go Grace?" He turned to his gardevoir partner. She nodded and turned to leave, only to be stopped by Joy.

"Hold on Nathan, I gotta ask you something."

Nathan peered over his shoulder, seeing Joy motion him over to the counter.

"What's up? There some wise advice you want to give me?" Nathan teased.

Joy flicked his forehead and narrowed her eyes. "No asshole, I have a favor to ask."

"Okay shoot."

"First, how are you feeling? Think you'd be able to work?"

Nathan thought for a second. He hadn't felt the symptoms of the concussion for a couple weeks. A doctor may say otherwise, but Nathan felt fine.

"Sure, I can work." He responded.

"Good. Would you be able to head to Castelia and grab that part for me. Without the shipping crew-"

"No way, absolutely not." Nathan shook his head vigorously, a hint of fear hiding behind his eyes.

"Nathan please, you know just as well as I do how important this is."

"And you know exactly why I cannot and will not go back to that shithole of a city." Nathan growled, his voice quickly growing more and more hostile.

"I know this is asking a lot Nathan, and I wouldn't do it unless I was out of options, but that is exactly what I am. I don't have a choice."

"The answer is no Joy. That's final." Nathan spun around and started storming to the door.

Joy was furious at this point. After all she had done for him over the past month, this is how he treats her? What kind of bull shit is that?!

"Nathan either go to Castelia, or I will be forced to fire you," she threatened.

"Then do it!" He turned around, his eyes boring into her.

Joy flinched, suddenly feeling very small.

She stood there, debating whether to follow through or not. If she did, what would he think of her… No, that doesn't matter, she needs to follow through. She can't be weak.

"Nathan, you're fired. I will not tolerate insubordination. I understand that you don't want to go back there, but I need to think of other trainers first. I'm sorry."

Nathan was left shellshocked. He hadn't expected her to actually follow through on the threat. He didn't know whether to be angry or not. Instead he just turned and proceeded out the door.

Grace had watched that entire ordeal in a state of shock. She had never seen Nathan snap like that. And now because of it he was out of a job. The day had been going so well, but now it had been torn apart. She was… angry. Very angry. But… the feeling wasn't her own. The only feeling that was her own was this overwhelming sense of worry. She took one last look at Joy, who looked like she was fighting back a torrent of tears, before bolting after Nathan. She didn't know where he would go, but she had a good guess.

 **January 1st, 11:00 am age 2208, Chargestone Cave**

Grace entered the mouth of the cave, peering around the corner in hopes to see him there. When she didn't see Nathan, she let out a pained sigh and continued further into the cave. It had been almost a month since she had been in here. And while the last time wasn't the happiest memory, she was glad it happened. She wouldn't have met Nathan otherwise.

She searched the cave top to bottom with no sign of him. She knew she was somewhere in here, his emotional state was overwhelmingly strong, she could feel it even if she weren't looking for him. She needed to focus, to think. Follow the emotion to its source. She closed her eyes and touched her gem, focusing solely on his emotions, feeling nothing but him.

It took a second, but she blocked out the other sources of emotion in the cave. It took a lot of focus and energy. She staggered a bit as she opened her eyes and began walking.

After what seemed to be hours, she came upon the room they had first met. Well… more like where he met her and she… threw rocks at him.

There, on a small overhang on the opposite end of the room sat Nathan. She face-palmed, feeling stupid for not coming here first. If course he'd be here.

Grace shook her head and refocused on her objective. With tentative steps, she stalked her way to Nathan.

She felt his rage, his grief, coming off him in waves. His emotions had been overwhelming before, but now up close they almost knocked her off her feet.

Grace closed the distance between her and her friend. She couldn't fight this sense of worry, this unconscious want to help him. To do whatever she could to be there for him and show him she cared. But before any of that… she had to find out what caused that outburst of his.

She sat down next to the boy, not taking eyes her off him. He looked up, meeting her gaze. What she saw shook her to her core. Nathan looked entirely different. His hair while normally well kept was so ruffled and messy, like someone had been scratching the top of his head. He wore a sullen expression, both his eyes and mouth seemed to sink. His eyes were the part that bothered her the most. The stunning lavender iris surrounded by a sea of red, bloodshot and distant. He seemed to look right through her.

She had yet to see him cry. She didn't want to see it anymore. She didn't want to see it ever again.

Grace placed her delicate, petal like hand on his shoulder before pulling him into a hard embrace. She held him, squeezed him, refused to let go. She had never felt like this about anyone before. It scared her, but she didn't care. She needed to be here for him right now.

He was slow to return the hug. At first he was shocked at the gardevoirs rather forward behavior. When the initial shock passed, however, he slowly wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her in close.

"I'm sorry Grace," he started, "for how I acted. It's just-"

"Stop," she whispered. "You don't have to apologize. Not to me anyway."

He stopped and stared at the mint haired girl wrapped around his torso. She acted like this when he had woken up. She was genuinely worried about him. It was… humbling to know how much she actually cared for him. And so he stopped. He stopped talking and just nodded into her hair. He took in her scent, her feel, her warmth. He could really get used to this.

After a few minutes they broke apart. There was no laughing this time however, only silence. It permeated the room, filling its caverns with a deafening stillness.

Grace decided it was time to be rid of the stillness.

"But, you are going to tell me why you acted that way. I've never seen you like this before Nathan. It's freaking me out. I want to know if there is anyway I can help."

Nathan returned his gaze to the floor. He was dreading this. It was bound to happen at some point, he just wished it hadn't been so soon.

"Can you erase the past, Grace?"

"No," she replied shakily.

"Then there is no way you can help. The damage is done."

Grace's face quickly grew sullen. She has failed to help him multiple times. Not this time though. She would not fail again.

"Then let me help heal that damage. I hate seeing you like this, Nate. I want to help you. You're too important to me not to at least try," she pleaded, gripping his arm in a tight squeeze.

Nathan closed his eyes, remaining silent. He did not shy away from her touch, but he didn't acknowledge it either. He let out a long sigh. Maybe it was time to let someone in. To let someone help.

"Fine, but… it's a very long story that is very hard to tell."

"Then why don't you show me instead?"

"Show you? What do you mean?" Nathan gave her a confused look.

"Lay back and relax Nathan. Let me work."

Nathan did as she said, laying flat on his back, gazing at the glittering blue of the stones in the ceiling. Needless to say he was rather startled when Grace straddled over his stomach, placing one of her soft hands on his sternum, and placing the other on the center of his forehead.

Grace then closed her eyes and inhaled, soon being enveloped in a soft pink light. Not seconds later, Nathan slipped into unconsciousness.

 **? Time ? Date age ? ? Place**

Upon opening her eyes, Grace found herself amidst a pitch black darkness. It entirely encompassed the area around her, seeming to go on forever. She couldn't tell where it ended, or where it even began.

"Grace?"

Grave jumped, startled by the sudden appearance of the voice. She looked around scanning for the source. It was clearly Nathan, but she couldn't see him. She was once again startled by a hand dropping down on her shoulder. She turned, coming face to face with Nathan. Though he had an almost ghost like appearance.

"What are you doing here? How are you here?" the ghost Nathan asked.

"To be honest, I haven't done this before so I wasn't sure it would work. I entered your mind and am projecting a physical representation of my consciousness," she replied.

Ghost Nathan stared for a second, completely dumbfounded.

"Um, how exactly?"

"I." She paused, "I don't really know. I just… did. Point is, this is the first time I have done this, so I'm not sure how long I can hold it."

Ghost Nathan sighed, returning to a sullen expression. "Then follow me."

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"A place I'd rather not go back to."

They walked for what felt like hours, silence only permeated by the never ending echo of footsteps. It was ominous, the sound reverberating from all direction, putting Grace on edge.

She watched the back of the ghost Nathan as they walked, he looked different than the Nathan she knew, standing taller and having a slightly more imposing figure.

She was curious. "So, why do you look different than you do in the real world?"

He glanced back at her momentarily before turning back around. His eyes were cold and lifeless, lacking the usual warmth she had become so accustomed to.

"I suppose that would be because I am not exactly Nathan. I'm his subconscious. My physical form is a manifestation of what Nathan unconsciously believes would be the ideal version of himself."

"Oh." She replied, not knowing what else to say.

After a few more minutes of walking, Grace began to see something in the never ending darkness. It was hard to make out, melding into the darkness from the distance.

Upon coming closer, the object revealed itself to be a large, purple door, wrapped in chains and a padlock. A dark purple haze seeped through the doors edges, forming into distorted faces and shapes. It chilled Grace to her very core.

"What… what is that?"

"A barrier, so to speak. A barricade made of Nathan's own willpower, holding back memories he wishes to stay repressed."

Ghost Nathan pointed to the haze leaking out of the door.

"As of late, the memories have been leaking through the barrier, infecting his dreams and fiddling with his mind."

Grace was shell shocked. This was the barrier she felt. This is what was pushing her back. A door made of Nathan's will. A will to keep these memories secret.

"If you truly wish to help Nathan, then that is where you must go. I shall open the door for you, but that is as far as I can go."

"Wait… is," she hesitated, "is it really okay that I do this? These are his deepest secrets. Is it really okay that I learn them?"

"I would not have led you here if I didn't already know your intentions were good. Besides, Nathan trusts you more than you'd ever know. He trusts you with his very life. A secret or two is poultry in comparison."

Grace's face flushed momentarily, overcome with flattery. She shook her head. She needed to focus. She looked at the ghost, nodding her head in acknowledgement.

Ghost Nathan turned to the door, raising his hand and pointing at the lock.

"Oscailte," he whispered. In a bright flash, a key appeared In front of the lock, slowly inserting itself and turning. The lock opened and disappeared. The door flung itself open, bursting with a dark haze. Grace felt her stomach drop, an unbelievable amount of negativity washing over her.

She turned to where the Ghost Nathan had been, but saw he had already gone.

Swallowing, Grace steeled her nerves and walking into the haze.

Time seemed non existent in the haze. Grace had no clue how long she had walked. It's almost as if time itself wasn't a factor on this plain.

She walked. She walked and walked and walked. She began to worry whether she would find anything. Not thirty seconds after that thought, she began to see a light. It's intensity only growing as she got closer, until it was all encompassing. Grace had to squeeze her eyes shut, the light was too intense. Suddenly, she felt herself falling.

 **October 27th, 1:45 age 2202, Castelia city**

"Come now, lass. We already know you are the one in possession of the master ball. So just hand it over and we shall give you back your boy and take our leave."

Grace's head was pounding. The voices she heard were not helping. Slowly she opened her eyes, squinting as they adjusted to the light.

"You… you people make me sick. Threatening a thirteen year old boy just to get what you want. Fine. I'll tell you where it is."

She saw four figures, too blurry to make out exact details. Three on the left, one on the right. One of the figures on the left was shorter than the others.

"Mom…" a younger sounding voice started, sounding very groggy, "what's going on?"

"No worries, laddy, your mommy was just helping us out. Won't take but a minute."

When Grace's vision finally cleared, what she saw made her catch her breath. Stood between two men in black and grey uniforms stood on either side of a young boy, pointing some metal object to the back of his head. Their hair hidden by large black beret, uniforms adorned with a strange looking coat of arms, black and white with a P through the middle.

On the right, a young woman, her long purple and white hair flowing down to her waist. A loose tank top and long jeans covered her pale form. She was gorgeous.

Grace turned to look at the boy. She studied his face, what he wore, his figure. He looked like a smaller version of Nathan. In fact, that's exactly what he looked like. The hair was undoubtedly his, purple tips and all.

She felt the knot grow in her stomach grow as one of the men pressed the metal item against Nathan's head.

"All righty, lass, you got five minutes to get that ball and put it in my hands. I'd suggest you get going."

The woman made a mad dash out of the room. She looked to be in tears. So why is it that the only emotions Grace could feel are the ones coming from Nathan? And why were they still so overpowering?

She felt fear more than anything. He was beyond terrified. She tried to reach out to him, tried to call out. But not a sound was uttered from those lips of hers. Not a noise was heard. In this world of memory, she couldn't interact. She could only watch.

The young woman came rushing back into the room, an object now in her hand. It looked like a pokeball of some type, only the top was purple and was engraved with the letter M.

"Here, just take it. Take the ball and leave us alone," the woman pleaded, holding the ball out to the two men.

The man without the metal object reached out and snatched the ball from her. A small grin lit up the other man's face. He pointed the metal item at the woman's head.

"Thank you, lass. You've been a big help."

There was a bang and a small flash. The woman's head snapped back as a red mist of blood shot out of the back of her head. She fell to the ground, unmoving.

"MOM!" The young Nathan screamed, breaking free of the two men. The larger of the two attempted to grab him, but Nathan was too quick. He ran over to his mother, sobbing uncontrollably.

The larger man started walking towards Nathan, but was stopped by his partner.

"While I'm not above killing the lad, we are on a rather delicate time frame, and we don't want too many bodies added into the mix," the shorter man said. The larger man simply nodded, allowing his partner to walk up to Nathan. Grabbing the metal item by the other end, he swung the but of the item into Nathan's temple. Nathan crumpled from the blow, losing consciousness, and ending the memory.

Grace was thrown back into the darkness. She shook violently and clutched her stomach, holding back the urge to vomit. What she just witnessed… was something no living being should have to go through. Suddenly, she was falling again, only this time she saw brief flashes of memory. Nathan and another man, watching as an ornate wooden box was lowered into the earth. Nathan, sitting alone in the corner of a room, sobbing. Nathan, screaming at an older man who was clutching a bottle of brown liquid. On and on it went, seemingly endless amounts of dark, terrible memories.

Grace felt her fall come to an abrupt end. Her head was spinning, she was shaking, tears were falling from the corners of her eyes. What this boy had been though was… indescribable. Even through the three years of hell she endured, he had been through just as much if not more.

Grace curled up and closed her eyes. She didn't want to see anymore. She had seen enough.

 **January 1st, 8:30pm age 2208, Chargestone Cave**

Grace groaned as she came back into reality. She had a splitting headache and felt her insides churn and moan. She felt like shit.

She moved her hands and gripped onto something soft. It felt like one of Nathan's shirts.

Her eyes shot open and she swiveled her head to see what she was laying atop of. She was currently sprawled on top of Nathan, her head had been resting on his chest, hands gripping at the hem of his shirt, one of his arms draped over her waist. She blushed profusely, but found herself reluctant to move off him. In fact, she didn't want to. She enjoyed the close proximity to him.

After a few minutes, Nathan began to groan, slowly opening his eyes and clutching his head.

"Good Lord, the whole world is spinning."

He felt something warm atop him, looking down to see what it was. His cheeks flared up when his eyes met a pair of Crimson gems. Grace was currently sprawled out on him and he had one arm draped over her protectively.

He brought his mind back to reality when he noticed something.

"Grace," he started, "why are you crying?"

Instinctively, he reached his hand up and wiped away the tears.

Grace hadn't noticed she was crying until he said that. When he tried to pull his hand away, she reached for it, grabbing it and pulling it back. She saw Nathan turn cherry red as she lay her head back down. She felt his hand start to pet the top of her head.

"I'm so sorry, Nathan." She said, her voice cracking, holding back choked sobs. "I'm so sorry."

Nathan lay his head back down on the floor, closing his eyes and letting out a long, exasperated sigh. "So, I'm guessing you saw everything, didn't you?"

Grace only nod her head, burying it into his chest. She had seen enough.

"So you understand why you can't help me?"

Grace raised her gaze to the boys face, giving him a questioning look. No, she had no idea why she couldn't.

"Nathan… I don't understand, what do you mean I can't help?"

"Just, simple as that, Grace. What's in the past is in the past, nothing we can do about it now."

"I already know that!" Grace snapped, causing Nathan to flinch.

"I already know that Nathan." She paused, changing her confused look to one of frustration. "But it's clear to me that you are still hurting in the present. Watching a parent die in front of you isn't something you just forget. I can feel your hurt, feel your sorrow. That pain is something I can, and will, help with." She took a breath, her glare softening. "I don't think I have to remind you of this, but my line can feel and understand emotion better than most any species on the planet. Whether you like it or not, after this time that I have spent with you, our emotions have become intertwined. Your sorrow is my sorrow. Your happiness is my happiness. So I'll be damned if I let the most important person in my life suffer this way."

Nathan just watched her, completely dumbfounded by her little rant. There was really no point in trying to fight her. She was bound and determined to be his rock, be his anchor.

So he could only imagine Grace's shock when he started laughing hysterically, flabbergasted at the boy's sudden change in demeanor.

"And what, pray tell, is so funny about what I said?" Grace asked, a little annoyed that this was the reaction she was getting. She was expecting him to tear up or hug her at least. Not laugh uncontrollably.

"Nothing, nothing I swear. It's just," he looked her in the eyes, "what the hell am I gonna do with you?"

"You're gonna sit down, shut up and let me be here for you, that's what." Grace huffed.

"Alright, alright, I suppose you've earned that much at least."

"Good. Now there is one more thing you have to do," Grace added.

"And that is?" Nathan wondered.

"You're going to go back to Joy, apologize, and take the job she asked you to. I'm coming with you, and I'm not taking no for an answer. You can't avoid going there forever, Nathan. It's the largest city in the damn region, eventually you'd go there for something."

Nathan was about to talk back, refusing the notion, but the sudden glow around the gardevoir's eyes told him the would be a poor decision.

Nathan let out a long winded groan, trying to get his distaste for the demand across.

"Fine, I'll go apologize and take the job, if she'll even let me. She did fire me you know. It might not go very well."

"Does it look like I give a shit, Nathan?"

A droplet of sweat rolled down the side of Nathan's face. "No, quite the opposite in fact."

"Good. Now let's go."

Upon trying to get up, it finally dawned on the pair just how compromising a position they were in. Both flushed a furious red, hopping up and off each other, muttering words of apology, before finally standing and exiting the cave.

 **January 1st, 10:13pm age 2208, Outside Driftveil Pokemon Center**

The two stood outside the doors to the red building, each nervous for different reasons. Grace feeling like she may have been a little hasty on the apology idea, as Nathan was currently wound tighter than a drum. Nathan wondering how many fingers he is gonna have left after he deals with the vicious beast that was Joy's rage.

Nathan swallowed and began making a cautious approach.

The doors opened on their own and Nathan took a peek inside. Nobody was in the lobby besides the Pokemart staff. The nurse counter was currently unoccupied, a small sign reading 'back in five minutes' hung over it's edge.

"J-Joy, you here? It's Nathan, can we talk?" Nathan asked, his voice shaking more than he was.

That's when Grace felt it. An almost crushing mix of anger, worry, sadness and fear.

That was rushing straight towards Nathan.

Grace raised her hand and was about to warn him when out of nowhere, she heard, "YOU GODDAMN IDIOT!"

The next thing Grace new, Nathan was flung through the sliding doors, landing in the snow. He grabbed his stomach, gasping for air.

Grace turned back, seeing a very pissed of Joy standing where Nathan had been. Best guess, Joy just slugged Nathan as hard as she could. By the sounds of Nathan's wheezing and groans, she assumed that was probably right.

Joy started to stomp towards Nathan again, only to be stopped by Grace's psychic. She tried to struggle, but the psychic grasp on her was too powerful.

"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU! FOR GOD'S SAKE YOU LEAVE THE CENTER AND DECIDE 'OH FUCK IT, LET'S DISAPPEAR FOR SEVEN GODDAMN HOURS! THAT'S SURE TO GET SOME LAUGHS!' WHY DIDN'T YOU AT LEAST ANSWER MY CALLS! FOR FUCKS SAKE YOU HAVE A PHONE FOR A REASON!"

Joy began breathing hard, her voice beginning to falter towards the end. She was holding back her tears as hard as she could, but just couldn't do it anymore.

"I was so worried Nathan. You scared me half to death. I thought… I thought I lost you. When I went to check on you at your house and you weren't there… I…" Joy began sobbing uncontrollably.

Grace released the psychic grasp and let Joy amble over to Nathan. He had sat up at this point and seemed to have taken a keen interest in his shoes, but he still looked to be out of breathe.

Joy approached Nathan, trying her best to glare at the boy, to let across just how scared she had been. But when he looked up at her, meeting her stone cold glare with those warm purple gems, her anger melted away and the glare fell.

She dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close and resting her head on his shoulder.

"Don't you dare do that to me again," Joy said softly.

Nathan remained silent, and just returned the hug, pulling her in close as well.

"Never again, I promise," He replied.

Grace watched the exchange, and couldn't ignore the pang of jealousy that hit her.

 **January 1st, 10:50 pm age 2208, Joys office**

After the little exchange out front, Joy brought everyone back to her office so Nathan could explain where he went. He told her about how he went to Chargestone Cave and how Grace had come to find him. He intentionally left out that Grace had entered his mind and what transpired in there, partially because he wasn't really sure himself. He just remembered a brief flash and when he woke up, but nothing in between. He'd have to ask Grace about it when they got home from this job, if they were even going that is.

"Well I suppose that explains why you didn't return my calls. No way in hell would you have service in there. But, how did Grace find you in that maze of a cave?"

"She followed my emotional trail. I don't know if mine feels different from a Pokemon but that's just what she told me."

"Okay, but there's something that's gnawing at me. Why were you guys in there for so long?"

Grace immediately flushed bright red and turned to hide her face, pretending to be interested in something on the bookshelf.

"We had…" Nathan started, fighting off his own blush, managing to keep it hidden, "a very long talk."

"A talk that took seven hours?"

"It wasn't exactly the easiest talk." Nathan sighed.

Joy flinched a little, understanding the context behind his words. She didn't know when it would happen, but knew Grace would eventually learn of his past. She nodded to Nathan, deciding to change the topic.

"So, moving on to the next most obvious question. Why'd you come here? I may not have wanted to do it Nathan, but I fired you."

"I know Joy, and frankly, I deserved that. I'm… I'm really sorry for blowing up at you. Like i said earlier, Grace and I had a long talk. While I can't stand the idea of going back to Castelia, it isn't something I can avoid forever. So, if you'd still let me, I'd e willing to take the job and go to Castelia. You don't have to give me my old job back, but I hope you'll let me do this. As a way of apologizing for making you worry."

Joy was shellshocked. Never, not in a million years, did she ever think she'd heard Nathan say he'd go back to Castelia of his own accord. She glanced over at Grace, giving her a look that screamed 'how did you do it'. Grace seemed to get the memo, as she just shrugged in response.

"So… would you let me do that?" Nathan asked, slightly hoping she'd say no.

She returned her gaze to Nathan, silently trying to process what just happened. She closed her eyes and let out a slow breath, before nodding her head. "Yes, I'd appreciate it Nathan."

Nathan, hiding the small amount of disappointment now trying to climb to his face, nodded in return. "Great, Grace and I will head out first thing in the morning." He stood to leave.

"Sounds good, I'll text you the address of…" Joy stopped, it now dawning on her what he said. "Wait you AND Grace?"

"Well… yeah. I'm gonna be gone a few days and she doesn't want to be cooped up in the house the whole time. So she said she was coming with."

"Oh… alright, I guess." She paused. "Understand Nathan, this isn't me giving you your job back. But… I am considering it. Keep that in mind."

"I sort of figured as much. Though, Joy, when we get back, do you think you could do me a favor?"

"No, I'm not getting you that BMW we saw on craigslist. I have told you that a hundred times and I'll say it a hundred more."

"That isn't it, blockhead. I'll tell you about it when we get back." He turned to walk out of her office, stopping in the doorway to say, "And for the record, it was an audi, not a BMW. I'll see you in a few days."

Joy gave him the finger as he and Grace left the center.

* * *

' _Once again, the Pokemon does something I can't.'_

Joy sighs as she glares at the papers on her desk.

How… just how after all the months she has tried to help him get over this ridiculous fear of Castelia, how has that gardevoir done it in an afternoon. She just didn't understand. What was she doing wrong? How is it not HER that Nathan is enamoured with.

Joy tensed up at that last thought.

Was that really what she felt for Nathan? This yearning to be beside him, that gnawing that she felt when she fired him? Was that the result of her… falling for the boy?

But… he's such an asshole! He's constantly sarcastic, he teases her about everything he can, he can be such a goof it makes her laugh, he always manages to make her smile, she felt so warm in his arms…

' _AAAAAAHHHH SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!'_ She screamed internally, her face flushing a cherry red.

Joy returned to glaring at her desk, as if trying to will it to clean itself. Her eyes began to water.

She should be happy for him. He is one of if not the most important person in her life. He has found someone who makes him happy, who can be there for him when he's not happy, who will love him unconditionally, and he isn't even aware that she loves him yet! Hell, Joy isn't even sure if Grace knows she's fallen in love with Nathan. She can see it plain as day.

The tears finally spilled down her cheeks.

So why is it that this only makes her feel… so full of pain.

 **January 1st, 11:30 pm age 2208, Nathan/Grace's home**

"Oh, good lord, thank you for blessing us with the gift of pillows," Nathan mused, only now realizing just how exhausted he was.

Grace snickered, leaning on the frame of the door. She was just as exhausted, having not fully recovered from their little mental outing this afternoon. It was strange. Along with being beyond tired, Grace felt something else after leaving Nathan's mind. She felt closer to him. It reminded her of when they were originally linked. It was different then, as the link wasn't stable, but it felt strangely similar.

"Grace, I don't know if you feel it, but I am thinking you should probably hit the sack too. We have an early wake up tomorrow, and the walk to Nimbasa city takes a day at least. We can take the trains from there to Castelia, but the maps sort of exaggerate just how close Nimbasa is to Driftveil. We are gonna need as much energy as we can muster, it's gonna be a long day."

Grace nodded. "Trust me, I had every intention of going to bed. I'm still exhausted from this afternoon." Grace slapped a three fingered hand over her mouth the moment she said that. She was so tired she couldn't help it, even knowing how touchy a subject it was.

Nathan's face fell, his eyes dropping to the floor. Grace opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted when Nathan raised a hand.

"You don't have to apologize Grace. If anything… I'm glad that this afternoon happened. How it played out as it did. I don't know if I would have been able to find the courage to tell you about my past otherwise. It's never easy to talk about. But, I trust you, and you deserved to know. So, really, no harm done. Don't beat yourself up about it, okay?"

Grace blushed… hard. His words were so genuine and were delivered with such warmth. She didn't know why she had reacted like this, and was quickly becoming embarrassed of her sudden flustered appearance. Why was he making her heart beat a mile a minute.

"Grace?"

Grace was brought back to reality with staggering force, almost collapsing as she was brought back to her body. She quickly nodded and turned to leave the room. She needed to leave, like, right now. When she stepped through the doorway, however, something occurred to her. Something Nathan deserved to know.

"Hey Nathan." She said, her voice strained and timid.

"Yeah?" Nathan replied, oblivious to her tone.

"When we get back from this job… Can I tell you about my past? About… why I left Hoenn?"

"Uh… yeah for sure. You don't need to ask."

With that, Grace gave another curt nod, before leaving the room, closing the door and entering her own.

Sleep would have to wait. Now she had to figure out how she would tell him… exactly who she was.


	8. Chapter 8

**HOOOOOOO BOY, I have some explaining to do, don't I. First off, while I don't really feel I need to apologize for the huge hiatus, I am going to anyway. I really needed that time to figure out what the fuck I was doing with my life and that can take time. Like, a lot of time. Shortly after my last upload, I started a new job that I kept for just shy of a year, (left in August for reasons I won't go into) and have since started going back to classes at my local community college. I finally feel as though I have my shit together though, and am ready to put time back into writing. If this chapter feels a little off, I apologize. I started writing it literally a year ago today and so there may be a few things off. I did my best to keep that to a minimum however. That is sort of another reason for the extended break. I didn't like where the story was headed. I didn't like what I had planned anymore and it got to me. However, I now have a new plan and am excited to see how it will do. The changes are minor enough that I can warrant not starting anew. I don't really think I'd want to start over anyway. I put a lot of work into this and don't want to see it die. I also have plans to keep myself from burning out again. Unfortunately, for right now, this will be my only Pokémon story. However, I have plans for and have started writing a My Hero Academia story, starring the adorkable goof balls, Mina Ashido and Izuku Midorya. We going IZUMINA BITCH. I also have some ideas for a Blue Exorcist Fic starring Izumo and Rin, though I am not quite sure how I want to start it, so it is on the back burner. For now, however, I hope you enjoy my story. My name is Top Succ, signing off.**

 **Disclaimer:**

 **The following is a fan-based story.**

 **Any songs, books, videos, characters, etc. that are used, and are not explicitly stated to be of my own creation, fall under the guise of the Fair-use Policy. Any and all credit for what is used goes to their respective owners/creators.**

 **The Pokémon Franchise is owned by:**

 **Satoshi Tajiri**

 **Nintendo**

 **Game freak**

 **The Pokémon Company**

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 **January 2nd, 6:30 am age 2208, Nathan's home**

It was early. Much too early for Nathan's liking. His alarm was blaring and it was still pitch black outside his window. He was starting to regret taking that job. He hadn't thought much of the day ahead of him beforehand. First a several hour long walk just to get to Driftveil drawbridge. Then there was the possibility of the bridge having to be pulled up just adding more time. Once they cross that's another two hours minimum on route five. All this in the middle of winter in the cold. At the very least route five is really open and well lit, usually clear of snow as well.

Nathan finally got sick of the constant beeping his alarm made, throwing his legs over the side of his bed and walking to his dresser to turn it off. But, before he actually silenced the damn thing, an idea popped into his head. His clock doubled as a Bluetooth speaker and he remembered a certain complaint Grace had about their neighbors.

Shaking off the thought, an evil grin crept onto Nathan's face, he proceeded to grab his phone and look for the most obnoxious and loudest song he had saved. After making his decision, he ever so carefully crept into the hallway, slowly meandering his way to the psychic's door.

He had to hold back his laughter. Just imagining what the look on her face would be made his sides hurt.

Reaching her door, he clasped the knob and slowly began to turn it, doing his best not to make any noise. He pushed the door open inch by inch, pleading to it to stay silent. Luckily for him, the door remained quiet as he pushed it open, giving him a good view of the room. Though he was not prepared for what met his gaze.

Grace was not on her bed, but instead leaned up against it, her head tilted slightly so it still rests on the side of the mattress. Her arms lay one on top of the other, hanging a bit below her shard. Her thin legs best over to the side, draped by her knee length gown. Though what really got to Nathan, was just how perfectly the moonlight seemed to dance across her sleeping form. It touched her face ever so slightly, revealing the pale white of her skin and the deep green of her long, silk like hair.

Nathan couldn't prevent the blush that appeared on his face. She looked absolutely stunning. Though... Why didn't that thought really bother him? Sure, he didn't really have much experience with girls and now there was one living with him, but she wasn't exactly the same species. It felt oddly wrong but at that same time it felt alright.

He shook his head, choosing to think about this another time. He looked down at his phone, contemplating whether or not he actually wanted to go through with the prank or not. Now that he thought about it, this sort of behavior wasn't really like him. He wasn't one to pull pranks out of the blue, he had always found those types of people obnoxious and unfunny.

Lucky for him, the universe decided while he thought about it.

Nathan was torn from his thoughts when he heard Grace groan slightly, signaling she was about to wake up. He darted from the room, almost tripping on his way back to his safe haven.

Grace peaked an eye open once she knew he was gone. She had been awake for an hour already; her sleep being interrupted by the pit that was slowly growing in her stomach. This was the first time she was going to tell someone about the past three years of her life. It was honestly terrifying. While she trusted Nathan, she couldn't help but feel a deep anxiety over how he would see her afterwards. After she told him she had done, what she had been through.

Grace let out a deep sigh, allowing the negative thought to be pushed to the back of her mind, what had just occurred to take the forefront. Now was her turn to blush like mad. She had been reading his emotions from the moment he had woken up. It was strange. After the incident with the link being severed, she had a hard time telling him apart from the crowd. While she could still tell who he was, he just felt like another voice in the crowd. But this morning, she felt him again. She could feel Nathan. He was instantly recognizable, feeling that familiar pull from before the link had broken. It made her feel… warm. Safe and warm.

Just like Nathan, she wasn't prepared for what she felt when he opened the door. All the mischievous undertones and the excitement. All of it was thrown to the wayside in an instant. In its' place, she felt his attraction, how he was so flustered, as well as a turmoil of conflicting feelings. She had read his thoughts, learning that he thought she looked stunning. How she looked beautiful in the moonlight.

The smile that had appeared on her face quickly faded. Who was she kidding? She felt what he did after initially seeing her. He felt… not just conflicted, but almost disgusted. Not by the fact that he found her to be beautiful. Rather, she thought that he felt disgusted because that thought didn't bother him. Was he really that put off by the idea of being attracted to a Pokémon?

She was brought back to the present by the sound of Nathan's door opening. She poked through his head again, hoping that after some thought maybe he had changed his mind. But she found no trace of any of it.

She looked down and let out a shaky breath. Perhaps he was right in how to handle this. Right now, this shouldn't be her focus. They had a long trip ahead of them and needed to be prepared. She couldn't let herself sit in this stupor.

Clapping her hands across her cheeks, she allowed a smile to reappear on her face. Even if this trip was for work, they were still heading to one of the largest cities in the world, a literal amusement park city! It was incredible! Even if they were only spending a night there, if she were right, they would arrive mid-afternoon, giving them plenty of time to explore and have fun before having to leave for Castelia in the morning.

She got up, lifting herself into the air with her psychic powers. She touched down gracefully, opting to walk while she had the chance. She turned into the hallway just as Nathan was about to descend the stairs. He turned to look her way, a massive blush appearing on his face as his eyes widened, quickly deciding something at the bottom of the stairs was far more interesting.

"M-m-morning," he stuttered, clearly just as flustered as before, if not more.

"Morning," she returned with a small wave and a cute smile, an awkward tension now filling the hallway.

"I'm gonna go make some coffee." Nathan proceeded down the stair as a sly smirk appeared on the young psychic's face. Perhaps she wasn't chasing a dream after all.

 _'_ _You need to calm down man. Keep your shit together. She is your best friend and partner, nothing more, nothing less. Sure, she may be stupid hot, but-'_ Nathan proceeded to slap himself across the face.

 _'_ _NO, NONE OF THAT! Do not fall victim to her good looks, her feminine charm… her soft green hair… the way those eyes of hers seem to shine in the-'_ Nathan slapped himself again.

What the hell was he thinking! It would never work! He was human! Shouldn't he feel this way about Joy or Fennel or hell anyone besides Grace! Yeah, he may not look down on pokephilliacs, but he certainly thought it was weird!

Nathan took several deep breaths, calming his mind and slowing his heartbeat. This wasn't what he needed to be focusing on right now. Rather, he should focus on the trip, what to pack, and how to get to Nimbasa as quickly as possible. There was a small town before the drawbridge about five hours outside Driftveil that they could rest in before going to the bridge. And after crossing the bridge they'd be on route five, which was lined with restaurants and hotels that were cheaper than the ones in the city. Once they got to route 5 it would take them a solid two hours to get to Nimbasa. From there he would have to find them a hotel for the night, as it would be too late to take a train to Castelia at that point. Not like he would complain though. There was always something to do in Nimbasa, and he had wanted to take Grace there for the longest-.

Nathan slapped himself again.

"Mind telling me why you keep slapping yourself dude?" Nathan heard that all too familiar soft voice behind him.

"Just trying to wake myself up," Nathan replied, trying to sound as calm as possible.

Grace just paused for a moment, giving him an incredulous look. "Um… alright," she said soon after.

Nathan could feel his anxiety rising again, trying to breathe slowly in order to calm himself. He prayed that Grace wasn't feeling him out right now.

After calming down again, he turned around and looked at her, giving her a once over before breaking the silence.

"So now that you're here, why don't we talk about how this trip is gonna go and what to pack? I have an idea of how long it should take to get to Nimbasa and if we leave by eight, we should be there Just after 3. We'll stay in Nimbasa for the night and take the train to Castellia in the morning. Just remember to bundle up. The snow should be cleared off the routes, the league is usually really good about that, but it will still be frickin freezing. Oh, and I want to stop at the center to say goodbye to Joy and grab a few things from the mart."

Grace cringed at that. The idea of being in such a cramped and close quarters area bothered her.

"Nathan, do we have to take a train? I mean, can't we just walk to Castelia?"

"Not if we want to meet the Silph co. rep on time. It would take us three days minimum to walk there, and the route between Nimbasa and Castelia is all desert. I'm sure you already know this, but the desert at night, especially during the winter is a death trap. I'm sorry if the train bothers you Grace, but it's our only option. It'll take us about seven and a half hours to get there on the train and we gotta get there before the 4th."

Grace became rather downtrodden at that. She knew it was their only option. Trying to trek through a desert in the middle of winter? They'd freeze to death in the middle of the night. Still, that almost seemed better than being stuck in a speeding deathtrap filled with other people. It just seemed revolting to her.

"Grace, look at me." Nathan demanded.

Her gaze rose, meeting those amethyst eyes of his once again.

"This isn't something we have to figure out or worry about right now, okay? The train ride is still a good 24 hours away. We'll figure something out between then. Promise." He gave the gardevoir the sincerest smile he could. The last reaction he expected was for her to blush and turn away.

"Y-y-yeah, for sure." She turned back to Nathan, grinning like a madwoman. "Thanks Nathan. I really appreciate you trying to cheer me up."

Nathan gave her a smirk and a thumbs up, turning back to his coffee, pouring a mug to get ready for the day ahead.

 **January 2nd, 7:45 am age 2208, Driftveil Pokémon Center**

"Alright, that's potions, some snacks, heat packs, water… yup, I think I got everything on the list."

The duo walked out of the mart section of the center, Nathans' backpack now full of items he purchased for the trip.

"You sure there isn't any other way for us to get to Nimbasa besides walk? We nearly froze just walking to the center, Nathan. It's ice cold, won't that be dangerous to walk in?" Grace asked.

Nathan groaned, dreading the next several hours of his life. She was right. It was cold. Much colder than what was predicted. Meaning that it would not only make their trip longer, but make it that much more uncomfortable.

"Unfortunately, that's our only option right now, Grace. I don't have a car and there isn't a train line from here to Nimbasa. I know it sucks, but I can't and don't want to back out of this job now. I have to make it up to Joy. The center needs this part as soon as possible."

"Beginning to really regret choosing to come with you." Grace moaned.

"I know," Nathan began, "but I'm glad you are coming with. I don't think I'd be able to do this trip on my own. I'm lucky to have you as a friend."

Grace gave him a playful smile before jabbing him in the arm. "What have I told you about getting sappy with me." She skipped ahead a bit before turning around, giving Nathan a much larger smile. "Besides, isn't that what friends are for?"

Nathan snickered, amused by her sudden change in mood. "Now who's getting sappy, you dope."

"Hey!" Grace yelled. She reached out to grab him, but he slipped out of her reach, beginning to walk towards the office.

"I'm gonna go let Joy know we are about to leave. I'll be back in a minute."

Grace nodded as he walked away. She sat down on a nearby bench, left alone with her thoughts. As much as she cherished and enjoyed Nathan and his company, she cherished these brief windows of alone time almost as much. Hell, after a month and a half of being glued to someone for hours at a time, some space is nice. Though, this time there was just one problem. She couldn't get her mind off of how she should tell the young man about her past. How she could tell him that as much of a victim as she was, her feelings of self-loathing and pity were almost overshadowed by her guilt. She wasn't just a victim.

Grace had been so closed off in her own thoughts, she didn't notice the rather familiar figure approach her. Only when this figure spoke did she finally break from her trance.

"I thought I sensed a familiar presence." The figure spoke.

Graces' head shot up, startled by the sudden break back to reality. In front of her stood Harmony, whom was giving Grace a look of confusion.

"Did I scare you?" Harmony asked the fellow Gardevoir.

"Oh, no, sorry. I was just thinking is all." Grace remarked, trying not to let known just how awkward she was feeling right now.

"I see." Harmony responded. She turned her head, looking off into the center. "Where is your human? I thought I sensed him too."

"He just went to talk to Joy. He and I are leaving for Nimbasa today and he wanted to say goodbye."

"Nimbasa? How do you plan to get there? You can't mean to walk all the way."

"'Fraid so. He doesn't have a car and the trainline leading there isn't running. The tracks are frozen over," Grace said, silently thanking the great gods above for that second bit.

"Oh my, I'm sorry to hear that. Why not wait for a later date, when it isn't so cold?"

"We actually aren't staying in Nimbasa for long, just for one night. We are heading to Castelia to meet a representative of Silph co. for a replacement part for the healing machine here. Problem is, we need to be there by the fourth."

"Ah, I see. That is quite the predicament." Harmony added. She nodded and then proceeded to sit down next to Grace, making her a bit uncomfortable.

 _'_ _Does she not remember what happened last week?'_ She thought. Why the hell was she being so friendly.

Harmony glanced at Grace, giving her an inquisitive look. "Is something the matter?"

"No, it's just… why are you being so nice to me? For god's sake I threw you into a wall and threatened your life. I'm just wondering why you'd talk to me."

Harmony was silent for a moment, seeming to give the question some thought. She turned her head, staring out into the crowd, before answering.

"I suppose my behaviour is a tad strange. Yes, you were quite violent in our first meeting, but you were justifiably so. Even if it was not intentional, I harmed your friend. Quite severely from the looks of it. It was only natural for you to react angrily. Though, I do wish you hadn't destroyed the door." Harmony smirked.

Grace gave a nervous laugh, now embarrassed by her actions. "Yeah, sorry about that. I wasn't thinking. While I'm at it, I'm sorry for attacking you and your friends. Even if I was angry, I shouldn't have done that."

Harmony nodded, giving Grace a warm smile. "I apologize as well. I shouldn't have been so hasty in my actions. It wasn't right of me to remove your link. Besides, it seems as though you have reestablished it. I can sense a connection between you two, stronger than the last one."

"Oh, uh, yeah, we remade it when he woke up." Grace said, doing her best to lie. In actuality, she still had no idea how she made a link with him.

Grace saw the faintest glint of skepticism in Harmony's eye, but only briefly as the other gardevoir was quick to answer.

"I'm glad that you relinked and that he is doing alright. Truth be told I came over here to apologize to him, but he was gone by the time I got here."

"Oh, well he should be back soon. You can wait here if you want."

Harmony gave a light smile, responding with a friendlier tone than before. "Thank you, I think I'll take you up on that."

 **January 2nd, 7:50 am age 2208, Joy's office**

"You're kidding? They really gave us an extension?" Nathan asked the pink haired nurse.

"I'm not kidding at all! I just got off the phone with the Silph rep and he said he'd be here for a few more days due to the cold. He isn't leaving now until the eighth and is giving us until then to meet him!" Joy practically squealed in excitement.

"Joy, that's awesome!" Nathan yelled. "Now Grace and I don't have to rush to Nimbasa or Castelia in the cold to get the part! She is gonna be thrilled."

"I know, I'm incredible, aren't I." Joy said, crossing her arms and raising her chin in a dignified manner.

"Oh, but of course, your highness. Thank you for causing this blistering cold making it a nightmare to walk to Nimbasa. Truly a blessing." Nathan teased.

The two shared a good laugh before settling down, Nathan now taking a seat across from the nurse.

"I'd still like to get the part as soon as possible, if you don't mind. The older model of the healing machine was on its last leg when we received the new one and it won't hold for much longer. We really need that part."

"I know, I know. I'll to my best to try and get to Castelia by the fifth. Where am I meeting this guy again?"

"At Café Sonata. Call me when you get into Castelia and I will arrange the meeting. I really can't thank you enough for doing this Nathan. This means a lot to me."

Nathan smiled. "Of course, Joy, you're one of my best friends. Besides, I was a real jerk-off yesterday. I kind of owe you."

"I know that. But… I also know how hard it is for you to go back to that city. After all that happened, it isn't a surprise that you'd be averse to going."

Nathan sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, that's true. But, Grace helped me see that what's in the past can be learned from and even if it hurt, I'm going to have people I can lean on; depend on to pull me out of that darkness. You, Grace, Fennel. I know you'll all be there for me."

Joy sniffled a little, walking around the table and embracing the boy in a tender hug, one he gladly returned.

"Good luck, I'll see you in a few days. Tell Grace goodbye for me, and that when you guys come back, there's a job waiting here for the both of you."

The pair separated and waved their goodbyes, feeling the slightest bit melancholy.

* * *

Walking back into the lobby, Nathan began looking around for his green haired companion. So, when he made his way back to the bench he left her at, it went without saying he was surprised to see a second head of lime colored hair.

Grace, noticing a familiar presence in Nate, turned her head to see him walking toward the gardevian pair. She gave a wave, earning a small smile in response. "Hey, how'd your talk with Joy go? She still wants to kill you?"

"That and then some," he joked, "but she did end up giving me some good news. We received an extension from the Silph co. rep and now have till the eighth to get the part! We won't have to rush there! We could even stay in Nimbasa for a day or two."

"Really? That's great. I'm glad Nathan." Grace really didn't have as much a reason to be that ecstatic. Her psychic abilities allowed her to float about so she rarely got fatigued due to travel, and she still wasn't huge on places jammed to the rafters with people. Still, Nathan was happy, something she always liked to see.

"Best part," Nathan continued, "when we come back, not only do I get my job back, Joy said she will have a job here for you as well."

Now that got the gardevoir grinning from ear to ear. She leapt up off the bench and wrapped Nathan in a bear hug, squeezing him tight.

"Oh my god, thank you thank you thank you. I can't believe you remembered!" Grace squealed, still firmly plastered to the young man.

"H-hey don't mention it. You only reminded me hundreds of times. I'm not that unreliable, am I?" He teased.

"Well, there was that one time…"

The two of them broke into a fit of giggles, only stopping after a certain other figure cleared her throat in annoyance.

The two looked at Harmony, now a bit embarrassed having forgotten her.

"I hate to interrupt, it seemed as though you two were having a moment, but I would like to do what I came here to do," Harmony said, looking at Grace, moving her gaze to Nathan. "I would like to apologize to you for my actions when we met. I was purposely hostile and although it was not my intention to do was, I caused both of you a great deal of hurt. For that I am sorry."

Nathan remembered back to when he was in that house on the hill. About how this gardevoir had apparently severed a link between Grace and him. Something told him he should be angry, but he wasn't. He couldn't be. It wasn't her intention to hurt him, he knew that. The link had been hurting him already, she was just trying to help. He wanted to make sure she knew that.

"Hey don't beat yourself up over it. Grace told me everything when I came to. I know you didn't mean to hurt me. No harm done. So, no need to worry." He gave her a small but meaningful smile.

Harmony took a second to process what he had said. She really had expected him to be furious. In her culture, a link like that was special. Something you shared with very few. It wasn't something to be trifled with. Hell, for what she did, if she was still living with wild gardevoir in Kalos, she would have been exiled on the spot, good intentions be damned.

"But… what I did. To most gardevoir it's… unforgivable. That link you have is special, volatile or not. How can you just-"

"Well, I'm not a Gardevoir, am I?" Nathan smirked. "I don't know how Grace feels about it, but to me you were just trying to help out. So, it's okay."

Grace said nothing, just allowing the two to talk it out. She saw no need to intervene yet.

"Please at least allow me to do something to, how do you humans say it, make it up to you? There must be something I can do."

It was clear at this point that she did not intend on backing down. Nathan felt kind of bad at this point. He didn't want anything out of her, just wanted to make sure she knew he forgave her. But she seemed insistent.

"Well, unless you could teleport the two of us to Nimbasa so we didn't have to walk, I don't really have anything that comes to-"  
"I can do exactly that!" She blurted out with a bit too much enthusiasm, covering her mouth and looking to see nobody had noticed her little outburst. "I should be able to teleport you two to Nimbasa city without any problems. I teleport all across the region without issue."

Nathan starred in surprise. "I mean I was only kidding, but hey, if you're offering, I won't say no. Any objections Grace?... Uh… Grace?"

She had been staring at the other psychic for quite some time now, trying to figure out how she knew all these when Grace didn't, trying to piece together how she would manage to teleport them miles away. Trying to figure out why right now, she felt so utterly inferior.

Nathan snapped his fingers in her face, grabbing her attention.

"Huh, what. Oh, uh, yeah, I have no problem with it. Beats the hell out of trudging through the snow, am I right?" She laughed nervously, hoping to shift attention away from her.

"...Right. Anyway, what do you need us to do?" Nathan asked Harmony, slightly concerned about his friend's odd behavior.

"Do you have everything that you wish to take with you?" Nathan nodded. "Then stand still."

With that, her eyes gained a pink glow, she snapped her fingers, and all Nathan saw was white.

 **January 2nd, 6:45 am age 2208, Nimbasa City gym**

A tall, rather lanky and pale man walked through the doors to the Nimbasa gym, ducking slightly as to not hit his head on the top of the door. He sported a thick leather coat, hiding his thin frame beneath its girth. His jet-black hair slicked back out of the way of his long sharp nose and sunken eyes, keeping still even in the cold winds of the region, his face long and almost pointed to a tip around his chin. A belt of pokeballs hung loosely from the bottom of his jacket though they weren't your typical red and white ball.

Another man in a jet-black trench coat approached him, crossing an arm over his chest in salute.

"Welcome back sir." He said, "I take it your trip to Hoenn was successful?"

The man says this eyeing the loop of pokeballs on the others jacket.

"Yes, quite successful indeed. Though there was one escapee, it appears as though the beats has been tracked to Unova of all places. How it managed to get here is beyond me."

"Very good sir. I am glad to hear that. Lord Dia left a message for you not to long ago. It is in your office."

"Thank you, Arin, you may go back to your normal duties."

Arin nodded, returning to his position at the door.

The man walked through the gym towards the tail end of the facility, opening the door to a dimly lit and dusty office. He'd have to fire whomever it was that was meant to clean the place. The walls of the room were lined to the brim with bookshelves, packed to the brim with hundreds of books on the history of Unova, of Pokémon, of the world. In the middle sat a rather ornate desk, small details carved into its legs and body. Carvings of Pokémon and other legendary beasts, beautifully drawn out and cut on the wooden surface. The largest of the carvings being that of Reshiram and Zekrom, the deity Pokémon of Unova. On the desk lay a letter, addressed to him, sealed with wax with a symbol in the center. The letter P with a cross through it.

He opened the letter, pulling out the piece of paper inside. It was a wonder why Lord Dia still used such an archaic form of communication. But this was always how he received his orders.

The letter was simply that, a new set of orders, telling him to remain in Nimbasa city acting as its new gym leader until he heard otherwise. Plasma must remain as secret as possible, and so his guise must remain intact for now.

It was then that he heard a knock at the door.

"Mr. Mordecai, sir. We have someone asking when the gym shall open again."

Mordecai smiled, placing the letter back on the desk.

"Let them know that the gym does not officially open for another two weeks, but that I will be happy to take their challenge then."


End file.
